Nesirky: Kaag to brief OPCW this week, UNSC next week

Sigrid Kaag, the Special Coordinator of the Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-UN (OPCW-UN), will travel to The Hague this week and to the UN next week for discussions and to brief their Councils, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said. The Joint Mission, tasked to oversee the destruction of Syria's chemical stockpiles and production facilities, was created by the UN Security Council in resolution 2118 earlier this month, upon recommendation from Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Nesirky told the daily press briefing Kaag has been in Cyprus, where she will be based, and Damascus. "She will be travelling this week to The Hague for discussions at the Executive Council of OPCW and will then travel on to New York for discussions at UN Headquarters. She intends to report to the UN Security Council, as well as the OPCW Executive Council". Kaag was appointed by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on October 16. In his first report to the Security Council in implementation of resolution 2118, Ban said the Joint Mission has conducted verification activities and destruction of the production and mixing and filling capabilities in Syria at 37 out of 41 disclosed facilities. He noted that the Joint Mission personnel have not been able to visit a few locations due to "highly unsecure conditions," adding that they will try to do so "as soon as conditions permit." Ban stressed in his report that in all those sites, the Syrian Government has "extended consistent, constructive cooperation." He also stressed that success of the Joint Mission will depend on the sustained commitment by the Syrian authorities to fulfill their obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention. "Without sustained, genuine commitment by the Syrian authorities, the Joint Mission will not fulfill its objectives," he said