UN chief urges Syria to ensure safety of chemical weapons

Syria must ensure the “safety and security” of any chemical weapons it may possess, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday at a meeting with reporters on the sidelines of the 67th session of the UN General Assembly.

“I once again emphasize the fundamental responsibility of the Syrian government to ensure the safety and security of any such stockpiles,” said Ban, calling on Syrian President Bashar Assad to proceed with due caution where such arms were concerned.

“The use of such weapons would be an outrageous crime with dire consequences,” he warned.

Speaking prior to the High-level Meeting of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, founded to enforce the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), Ban said that “the overall threat” of the use of such arms “remains a serious global concern” — despite the Convention’s successful efforts to eliminate significant percentages of the world’s chemical weapons stockpiles.

Iran also warned its ally Syria against using chemical weapons, AFP reported. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that any country, including Iran, that would uses weapons of mass destruction would destroy its legitimacy.

According to UN statistics, three-quarters of the world’s stockpiles have already been eliminated.

“This is a remarkable achievement,” Ban said during the meeting, stressing that now was time to prevent more proliferation of chemical weapons.

“Chemical weapons simply have no place in the 21st century,” Ban said. “Progress in this vital area will help generate momentum to meet our goal of eliminating all weapons of mass destruction.”

He added that the “time has come” for all states, and Syria in particular, to assist the CWC in “eliminating an entire category of weapons of mass destruction.”

Syria is not a signatory to the CWC, which forbids states from stockpiling and using chemical weapons.