REGIMES CONGRATULATE SYRIA

• China: “We would like to congratulate you on assuming the presidency of the conference. You can count on the full support of my delegation on your endeavors.”
• Iran: “Mr. President, we would like to congratulate you on your assumption of the presidency.”
• Pakistan: “Allow me to begin by congratulating you on the presidency of the CD, and assure you of my delegation’s full support.”
• Russia: “We support the presidency and will provide him every assistance.”
• Iraq: “I would like to congratulate you and your county in assuming presidency of the CD.”
• North Korea: “Your rich experience and profound knowledge will guide us.”

 DEMOCRACIES CLASH WITH SYRIAN CHAIR

• Syria: “There was a mistake. I did not thank Germany for his statement, I thanked him for his threats.”
• Germany:  “None of my statements were intended as threats… Making cynical remarks from the chair does not serve this purpose….”
• Pakistan: “Denying the president to speak in the national capacity in the Conference on Disarmament is dual hearted; the president is the presiding officer and represents the country. How can we expect a CD member to deny them the right to speak?”
• US: “Syrian regime’s of using chemical weapons is well established.”
• EU: “We must all remember the Syrian regime bares all responsibility for prolonging the Syrian conflict.”
• Syrian President: “Before giving the floor to the next speaker on the speakers list I would like to bring to the attention of the member state, to address countries by their official name and not to use a language that is not appropriate that is non diplomatic in this hall.” In reference to calling the Syrian government a “regime.” 

DEMOCRACIES CONDEMN SYRIA

US: “Simply put, it’s a travesty that the Syrian regime that slaughters its people will preside over this body. We should all hold accountable the Syrian regime and those who enable their barbaric crimes. Syria has neither the credibility nor moral authority to preside over this body….  It’s interesting that the regime is concerned by the poisoning of the atmosphere [of the CD]. I am more concerned by the poisoning of the Syrian people.”

Netherlands: “Syria is the modern example of the effect of impunity.”

New Zealand: “Total disregard of human lives.”

Japan: “Condemns in the strongest terms the use of chemical weapons in Syria.”

Spain: “The exercise of presidency by a country that seriously fails to comply is a real contradiction.”

Australia (on behalf also of Canada and Turkey): “Our governments feels strongly that the credibility of this body has been undermined.”

France: “The Syrian regime does not have moral authority or political legitimacy to exercise as president of CD.”
UK: “Syria’s continuous non compliance undermines the very principle of this conference. It is a travesty that Syria has assumed the presidency of this body.”

DEMOCRACIES ANNOUNCE SPECIAL PROTEST MEASURES

US: “During the next four weeks we will be present in this hall to ensure that Syria is not able to advance initiatives that run counter to the interests of the United States, but we will fundamentally alter the nature of our presence in the plenaries. The US will also not attend any informal meetings the Syrian president may decide to convene, or attend any of the CD subsidiary body discussions during Syria’s presidency.

We look forward to resuming normal participation in all CD meetings following the end of Syria’s presidency. We encourage others to join us to express their outrage on Syria’s actions and their objections to Syria’s regime presiding over the CD.

France: “To mark its disapproval, we will not be represented by our ambassador in the CD for the plenary sessions of this forum during the four weeks ahead of us.”

Canada: “To highlight the hypocrisy of the Syrian regime, throughout June we will also be giving our voice to the survivors of chemical attacks in Syria by sharing their testimonies… Since Syria’s decision to assume the rotating function of the CD presidency is unacceptable to Canada, our Permanent Representative will not participate in any plenary meetings during this presidency.”

Israel: “Israel’s seat will remain vacant, our level of representation will be lowered, [and] we will not be involved in any substantive discussion under this deplorable presidency.”
 
 

The post Highlights: Democracies attack as Syria takes over UN disarmament conference appeared first on UN Watch.

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Comment by UN Watch

“Having the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad preside over global chemical and nuclear weapons disarmament is like putting a serial rapist in charge of a women’s shelter,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch.
“The Assad regime’s documented use of chemical weapons remains the most serious violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention in the treaty’s twenty-year history,” said Neuer.
“At a time when Syria has been gassing its own men, women, and children to death, to see Syria heading the world body that is supposed to protect these victims simply shocks the conscience of humanity.”
“Syria holding the president’s gavel is liable to seriously undermine the UN’s credibility, and will send absolutely the worst message.”
What We Ask Democracies To Do 
On April 9, 2018, UN Watch revealed that Syria was to head the CD, sparking a global outcry.
UN Watch launched an appeal and petition, signed by thousands, calling on democracies to protest.
Today we reiterate our call on all democracies to send an important message by showing their protest in one or more of the following ways:
• Democracies should not send ambassadors to today’s plenary; if they must, they should send lower-level delegates or note-takers;
• Democracies should, in regard to Syrian ambassador Hussam Eddin Aala — whose government gasses its own people — dispense with the customary pleasantries of congratulating the new chair;
• Democracies that do send delegates to today’s meeting, or to meetings over the next month, should move swiftly to adjourn CD meetings, so that no business is discussed during Syria’s presidency. Because everyone recognizes that the CD has been paralyzed for more than two decades, no damage will be done to any disarmament work, but a vital message will have been sent.
• Democracies like France, Italy, Canada and Japan should denounce Syria’s lack of credentials to serve as head of the world’s top disarmament forum, as the US, the UK and Germany have done.
What is essential is that democracies make clear that it cannot be business as usual when dealing with the Assad regime as president of global disarmament.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Does the Conference on Disarmament matter?
The Conference on Disarmament (CD) is billed by the UN as “the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community.” Comprised of 65 nations, the CD negotiated the 1996 global nuclear test ban, and the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention. It has been largely paralyzed over the past 20 years. But for many around the world, the symbolism of who is president does matter.
In response to criticism over Syria’s presidency, some close to the UN have said “the CD is not a a UN body.” Does the UN fund, manage, service, oversee or host the Conference on Disarmament?
Yes, the UN does all of those and more:
• The UN funds the Conference on Disarmament out of its regular budget.
• The UN Secretary-General appoints the Secretary-General of the CD, which is Mr. Michael Møller, the Director General of the UN in Geneva.
• The CD reports to the UN General Assembly.
• The CD’s decisions are recorded as UN documents.
• The CD meets on UN premises in Geneva.
• The CD is serviced by UN personnel.
• The CD’s website is on the UN Geneva’s website: www.unog.ch/cd.
• The emails for the CD are UN email addresses: cd@unog.ch and cd@un.org.
• The CD’s Twitter handle is: @UNODAGENEVA.
So while it is true that officially the CD is not a UN body, in every practical sense it is; saying otherwise is a distiction without a difference.
Has the UN chief spoken out on Syria’s presidency?
Only slightly. UN chief Antonio Guterres, speaking on disarmament last week in Geneva, expressed the hope that Syria’s presidency won’t have a “negative impact” on the CD.
Did any country try to stop Syria’s presidency?
Yes, America’s bid to block the Assad regime came in a meeting last week of the disarmament forum, after Syria vigorously defended its presidency and spoke of “achieving the objectives of the Convention on Chemical Weapons.”
Ambassador Hussam Alaa slammed the UK, France, and the US for bombing Syria over chemical weapons attacks, and said that “it is not the Syrian presidency that could harm this conference, but those who take the floor to justify aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law.”
U.S. representative Robert Wood called on Russia to ask Syria to “stand down” from the presidency.
He added in a tweet: “Monday, May 28, will be one of the darkest days in the history of the Conference on Disarmament with Syria beginning its four-week presidency. The Damascus regime has neither the credibility nor moral authority to preside over the CD. The international community must not be silent.”
What powers will the Syrian ambassador have as president of the CD?
Under UN rules, the Syrian ambassador to the forum, Hussam Edin Aala, will help organize the work of the conference and assist in setting the agenda. Mr. Aala will exercise all functions of a presiding officer and represent the body in its relations with states, the General Assembly and other organs of the United Nations, and with other international organizations.
In the past, has any country absented itself in response to a rogue presidency?
Yes, the U.S. and Canada pulled out while Iran was chair in 2013, and should do so again this month.
Is it true that UN Chief Guterres is unable to respond on this matter?
The UN secretary-general said the post is merely the result of an automatic rotation, and that the matter can only be addressed by member states.
Yet actions taken by other high UN officials prove that he can speak out. When Syria was elected to a UNESCO human rights committee in 2013, the head of that UN body went on record to say that the election was wrong. “Given the developments in Syria, the director-general does not see how this country can contribute to the work of the committees.”
Past precedent shows that UN officials can act as the world’s moral voice when a UN committee makes obscene decisions which only cast a shadow on the reputation of the UN as a whole.
UN Watch predicted that Syrian propaganda would exploit this as a propaganda victory. Have they?
Yes, the official propaganda channels of Syria, Iran and Hezbollah have hailed the position as a victory. Therefore, it is vital that democracies counter that message with vigorous protest.
What’s wrong with Syria heading a body dealing with nuclear or chemical weapons disarmament? 
A country that was reported to the UN Security Council by the International Atomic Energy Agency for its covert construction of a nuclear reactor and found in breach of the Nonproliferation Treaty, should be barred from any formal positions in UN bodies dealing with the such vital matters as biological, chemical and nuclear weapons disarmament.
Syria’s recent and continuous use of deadly chemical weapons and its illegal pursuit of nuclear weapons, in breach of its disarmament obligations, run counter to the objectives and fundamental principles of the Conference on Disarmament itself. Syria’s chairmanship will only undermine the integrity of both the disarmament framework and of the United Nations, and no country should support that.
Which treaties has the Conference of Disarmament produced?
The conference and its predecessors have negotiated major multilateral arms limitation and disarmament agreements, including:
• Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
• Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction
• Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction
• Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques
• Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

The post What we’re asking democracies to do as Syria begins presidency of UN disarmament forum appeared first on UN Watch.

.@USAmbCD: "I call on Russia to end its blind support for the regime in Damascus and for Russia to call on that regime to stand down from assuming the Conference on Disarmament presidency. Syria’s presidency will undermine this body and demean this institution…" pic.twitter.com/inOaxwl9Kt

— UN Watch (@UNWatch) May 24, 2018

Britain:
“The UK deplores the fact that Syria will assume the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament, given the regime’s consistent and flagrant disregard of international non-proliferation and disarmament norms and agreements,” British ambassador Matthew Rowland said in a statement. (Source: AFP)
Germany: 
“The Syrian regime has caused immeasurable suffering — through massive bombardment, oppression, starvation and repeated use of chemical weapons,” a German Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Berlin. “Therefore, the regime has no credibility whatsoever to carry out the presidency in a substantive and adequate manner.” (Source: DPA)
German MP Katja Keul:
https://twitter.com/KatjaKeul/status/1001062609200836608
France:

Régime syrien ne dispose pas d’autorité morale & légitimité politique nécessaire pr présidence d'@UNODAGENEVA . Ce constat est partagé par de nombreuses délégations, comme @USAmbCD & @EU_UNGeneva #CD #désarmement pic.twitter.com/d9egiEzZQg

— France-Désarmement 🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@FR_Desarmement) May 29, 2018

Pr marquer sa réprobation vis-à-vis de situation, 🇫🇷ne sera pas représentée par son ambassadeur pour sessions plénières durant présidence syrienne mais sera pleinement représentée ds organes subsidiaires placés sous présidences d’autres délégations.#CD #désarmement pic.twitter.com/2FOC7EGLQA

— France-Désarmement 🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@FR_Desarmement) May 29, 2018

European Union:

We consider it highly regrettable that the Syrian regime assumes the Presidency of the Conference of #Disarmament, even for 1 month. It does not have the necessary legitimacy to perform this function. Full statement: https://t.co/YEz8cWw0LK @UNODAGENEVA pic.twitter.com/4RD7dSoNUV

— EU at the UN – Geneva #MultilateralismMatters (@EU_UNGeneva) May 29, 2018

Netherlands: 
The Syrian regime does not have the moral authority nor the credibility to carry out the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament… International rights law, International humanitarian law and the Chemical Weapon Convention have been violated repeatedly and systematically in the Syrian conflict.
No regime, no government, no non-state actor can violate or disregard international humanitarian law or disarmament norms. Syria is the most poignant modern example of the effects of impunity. If we cannot hold any actor accountable for its deeds, impunity will reign.
The Netherlands will continue to work with international partners to end such impunity. It might not be today or tomorrow, but the Syrian regime will be held accountable in the end.

 
 
 

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The post U.S. calls on Syria to 'stand down' from presidency of UN disarmament forum, asks Russia for help appeared first on UN Watch.

Journalist: It is difficult to convey to the public that a country accused in of using chemical weapons is in the same time heading the Conference on Disarmament, even though it has been paralyzed for twenty years. How can this be explained? Does this not discredit the UN?
Secretary-General: Well, that’s a subject on which the Secretary-General has no power. The presidency of these entities follows a rotation principle, over which I have no influence. I understand your concern and I want to say something that can help a little. It is the fact that in the coming months the important work will be the work of the [subsidiary bodies] which will discuss some essential, substantive aspects. This is not the job of the presidency at the global level. And the presidency of these groups belongs to other different countries. So I hope that what you have mentioned will not have a negative impact on the work of the [Conference on Disarmament], which is essential.

More from UN Watch:
Transcript: Syria denies chemical weapons attacks, defends presidency of UN disarmament forum
Syria to chair UN disarmament forum on chemical & nuclear weapons; watchdog calls on US & EU to walk out

Sick: I just checked UN Conference on Disarmament (produced the Chemical Weapons Convention) and Assad's #Syria—world's #1 user of chemical weapons to gas its own people—is still listed as President in 4 days' time. Please help me say NO! Sign petition: https://t.co/tXNAyPrZ2z pic.twitter.com/xZ9cGrmLcz

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) May 24, 2018

FRANCE @FR_Desarmement: "I find it an act of particular cynicism that Syria, speaking from the Presidential platform, make statements of this nature and accuse my own country of various facts."

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) May 24, 2018

.@USAmbCD: "I call on Russia to end its blind support for the regime in Damascus and for Russia to call on that regime to stand down from assuming the Conference on Disarmament presidency. Syria’s presidency will undermine this body and demean this institution…" pic.twitter.com/inOaxwl9Kt

— UN Watch (@UNWatch) May 24, 2018

The post UN chief hopes Syria's presidency of top disarmament forum won't have "negative impact" appeared first on UN Watch.

Full 1-hour audio recording

Click here for petition

https://unwatch.org/wp-admin/post-new.php
Highlights related to Syria’s upcoming presidency of the Conference on Disarmament. See UN Watch’s press release here.
Syria: I hope that the Syrian presidency will be able to contribute and to bring success to the concerted efforts of the six presidencies this year… Madam President, achieving the objectives of the Convention on Chemical Weapons, which seeks to establish a universal effective regime against chemical weapons, cannot be done through attempts to exploit the convention and instrumentalize it for false objectives.
Certain members are exhibiting selectivity and double standards in their approach to the international system to combat chemical weapons without taking into account the real dangers threatening the world. Socrates once said that when there is a lack of debate, defamation is what comes to the fore.
Thus, it is important to uphold true dialogue in order to pursue the objective of the Conference on Disarmament and its mandate. We must stop attempts to use the Conference to manipulate the facts in order to hide the failures of some.
USA: No matter what the regime’s representatives s say here in this or another forum, we all know the truth. Because of the repeated use of these horrific weapons by this regime, Syria has neither the legitimacy nor moral authority to serve as president of this august body.  
France: I find it an act of particular cynicism that this platform, a quasi-presidential platform, given that Syria is speaking from the Presidential platform, be used to make statements of this nature and particular to accuse my own country of various facts.
UK: As my American and French colleagues have just said, they do not have the moral authority or political authority to be making such statements from the presidential podium.
Syria: I reiterate that Syria is aware of its responsibilities and its commitments as we approach our presidency of this body that we’re a member of. We do not make use of this platform to serve a political agenda. We expect other member states of this conference to equally respect the mandate of this forum and to abide by its agenda and to abstain from introducing politicized issues into the discussion that take place in this body.
USA:  I call on Russia to end its blind support for the regime in Damascus and for Russia to call on that regime to stand down from assuming the CD presidency. Syria’s presidency will undermine this body and demean this institution, and this is something that should not happen.
Syria: The attempts to try to manipulate the issue of the presidency of the conference on disarmament is something that we refute. That would be to open Pandora’s box. What I can say to the U.S. Ambassador is this: It is stated that he who has committed no sins should throw the first stone, and we remind you of that axiom for the future.
The conference will be politicized not by any Syrian presidency but by mechanisms that have been adopted elsewhere over many years which undermine the conference and its role. It is not the Syrian presidency that could harm this conference, but those who take the floor to justify aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law.
President (Switzerland): The next plenary meeting of the conference will be held on the 28th of May, next Tuesday, at 10AM under the presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic…

Listen to the Orwellian closing of Tuesday’s Conference on Disarmament meeting:

“The next plenary meeting of the conference will be held next Tuesday at 10AM under the presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic”https://t.co/vPcnHTmCit pic.twitter.com/lrD4CEnCMN
— UN Watch (@UNWatch) May 25, 2018

Powerful US statement against Assad regime’s obscene presidency—starting Monday—of UN-backed Conference on Disarmament. If Syria fails to stand down as US called for this week, @UNWatch is urging ambassadors of France, Germany, UK, Canada & all democracies to join US & walk out. https://t.co/nCsWFTl5xK

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) May 25, 2018

Good: America takes moral leadership @UN as U.S. rep to top disarmament forum calls on Russia to pressure Syria to “stand down” from assuming presidency on Monday of the body that produced the Chemical Weapons Convention. https://t.co/vONJdV0Ytw

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) May 25, 2018

The post Transcript: Syria denies chemical weapons attacks, defends presidency of UN disarmament forum appeared first on UN Watch.

It is obscene that Syria will become President of the United Nations disarmament forum that produced the treaty banning chemical weapons, only weeks after the Assad regime perpetrated a deadly chemical weapons attack.
I urge you to protest this shameful sight and symbol by instructing your ambassador to walk out when Syria takes over the presidency from May 28 to June 24, 2018.
“Having the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad preside over global chemical and nuclear weapons disarmament will be like putting a serial rapist in charge of a women’s shelter,” said Hillel Neuer of United Nations Watch.
The Assad regime’s documented use of chemical weapons remains the most serious violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention in the treaty’s twenty-year history.
At a time right after Syria gassed its own men, women, and children to death, to see Syria heading this world body will simply shock the conscience of humanity.
Under UN rules, the Syrian ambassador to the forum, Hussam Edin Aala, will help organize the work of the conference and assist in setting the agenda. Mr. Aala will exercise all functions of a presiding officer and represent the body in its relations with states, the General Assembly and other organs of the United Nations, and with other international organizations.
Syria holding the president’s gavel is liable to seriously undermine the UN’s credibility, and will send absolutely the worst message.
We note that the U.S. and Canada pulled out while Iran was chair in 2013, and all democracies should do so again now.

The post UN Watch Launches Petition to Oppose Syria Chairing UN Disarmament Forum on May 28th appeared first on UN Watch.

And now this: after gassing its own people to death, #Syria to chair UN disarmament forum on chemical & nuclear weapons; watchdog calls on US & EU to walk out https://t.co/s0JfV2xRZP via @unwatch
cc: @nikkihaley @theresa_may @EmmanuelMacron @AmbJohnBolton

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) April 9, 2018

https://www.facebook.com/unwatch/videos/10155274279146561/
Associated Press:  US questions Syria’s role in disarmament forum
La Libre (DPA): La Syrie présidera la conférence du désarmement de l’ONU malgré les soupçons d’utilisation d’armes chimiques

“Le fait que le régime syrien de Bachar al-Assad préside la conférence de désarmement mondial des armes chimiques et nucléaires peut être comparé à mettre un violeur en série en charge d’un refuge pour femmes”, a fustigé Hillel Neuer, directeur d’UN Watch.

De Volkskrant (Dutch): Syrië wordt voorzitter van VN-conferentie over ontwapening

UN Watch roept VS en EU op de zitting te boycotten
Syrië wordt eind mei een maand lang voorzitter van de VN-conferentie over ontwapening, een belangrijk forum voor discussies over ontwapeningskwesties. UN Watch, een organisatie die de Verenigde Naties kritisch volgt, roept de Verenigde Staten en de lidstaten van de Europese Unie op de zitting te boycotten, gezien het gebruik door het Syrische regime van chemische wapens.
‘Het regime van Bashar al-Assad een vergadering over chemische en nucleaire ontwapening laten voorzitten, is als een serieverkrachter de leiding in handen geven van een opvanghuis voor vrouwen’, stelt directeur Hillel Neuer in een verklaring. ‘Syrië vergast zijn eigen mannen, vrouwen en kinderen. Syrië een forum laten leiden dat deze slachtoffers zou moeten beschermen, schokt het geweten van de mensheid.’

EFE (Portuguese): ONG denuncia que Síria presidirá Conferência de Desarmamento da ONU em maio

A ONG UN Watch, que vigia as atividades da ONU, denunciou nesta segunda-feira que a Síria presidirá em maio a Conferência de Desarmamento da organização multilateral, o mesmo fórum que elaborou o tratado que proíbe as armas químicas.
“O uso documentado de armas químicas por parte do regime de (o presidente da Síria) Bashar al Assad continua sendo a violação mais grave da Convenção das Armas Químicas nos seus 22 anos de história”, disse o diretor-executivo da UN Watch, Hillel Neuer, em comunicado.
“Pedimos à ONU para entender que, em um momento no qual a Síria está lançando gás a seus próprios homens, mulheres e crianças até a morte, o fato de a Síria presidir o fórum mundial que deve proteger estas vítimas é um choque para a consciência da humanidade”, acrescentou.

Daily Mail: ‘It’s like putting a serial rapist in charge of a women’s shelter’: Anger as SYRIA prepares to chair UN disarmament forum on chemical weapons despite Assad regime being blamed for latest toxic gas outrage

Hillel Neuer, executive director of the Geneva based non-governmental organisation, United Nations Watch, said: ‘Having the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad preside over global chemical and nuclear weapons disarmament will be like putting a serial rapist in charge of a women’s shelter.’
‘We urge the UN to understand that at a time when Syria is gassing its own men, women, and children to death, to see Syria heading the world body that is supposed to protect these victims will simply shock the conscience of humanity.’

Radio Free Europe: U.S. Says Syria Not Qualified To Head UN Disarmament Forum 

“The Assad regime’s documented use of chemical weapons remains the most serious violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention in the treaty’s 20-year history,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of United Nations Watch.

NTV (German): Syrien leitet UN-Abrüstungskonferenz

Darüber hat sich jetzt die Nichtregierungsorganisation UN Watch empört. Deren Geschäftsführer Hillel Neuer sagte in einem Statement: Dass das syrische Regime unter Baschar al-Assad der globalen Abrüstungskonferenz chemischer und nuklearer Waffen vorsitzt, sei in etwa so, als ob ein “Serienvergewaltiger sich um ein Frauenhaus kümmert”. Seine Organisation wolle zusammen mit Opfern syrischer Giftgas-Attacken vor den UN-Gebäuden gegen die Ernennung Syriens protestieren.
Staaten zum Boykott aufgerufen
Die NGO ruft außerdem die verbleibenden Mitgliedsstaaten der UNCD dazu auf, die von Syrien zu leitenden Konferenzen zu boykottieren. Einen ähnlichen Vorgang habe es bereits 2013 durch die USA und Kanada gegeben, als Iran den Vorsitz innehatte

Der Tagesspiegel (German) Syrien erhält Vorsitz m UN-Abrüstungsausschuss

Angesichts des aufziehenden Skandals appelliert die Nichtregierungsorganisation UN Watch an die USA, Deutschland, Frankreich und Großbritannien: Die Länder sollen Sitzungen unter syrischem Vorsitz boykottieren. Ein Präsident aus der Assad-Gefolgschaft werde die Glaubwürdigkeit der Konferenz und der gesamten Vereinten Nationen „untergraben“, warnt Hillel Neuer von der Organisation UN Watch. Es sei wie „einem Serien-Vergewaltiger das Sagen über eine Frauen-Unterkunft zu geben“.

Metro News: Outrage as Syria to head UN chemical arms panel

‘Having the regime of Bashar al-Assad preside over global chemical and nuclear weapons disarmament will be like putting a serial rapist in charge of a women’s shelter,’ said Hillel Neuer of the United Nations Watch monitoring group.
‘Syria holding the president’s gavel is liable to seriously undermine the UN’s credibility, and will send absolutely the worst message.’

Tablet: You’ll Never Guess Who’s Heading the UN’s Conference on Disarmament

The Geneva-based organization UN Watch was the first to draw the attention of world leaders to the appointment, which is the result of an automatic rotation between member states. Hillel Neuer, the director of the organization, is calling for ambassadors to walk out of the room while their Syrian counterpart Hussam Edin Aala chairs the forum.
“At a time when Syria is gassing its own men, women, and children to death,” Neuer said in a statement, “to see Syria heading the body that is supposed to protect these victims will simply shock the conscience of humanity.”

CNS News Assad Regime to Preside Over UN’s WMD Disarmament Forum; US ‘Examining’ How to Respond

“Having the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad preside over global chemical and nuclear weapons disarmament will be like putting a serial rapist in charge of a women’s shelter,” said United Nations Watch executive director Hillel Neuer, whose non-governmental organization is leading calls for a stayaway.
“The Assad regime’s documented use of chemical weapons remains the most serious violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention in the treaty’s twenty-year history,” Neuer said.
“We urge the U.N. to understand that at a time when Syria is gassing its own men, women, and children to death, to see Syria heading the world body that is supposed to protect these victims will simply shock the conscience of humanity,” said Neuer.

Algemeiner: Despite Serial Use of Chemical Weapons, Syrian Regime to Chair UN Conference on Disarmament Next Month

The Geneva-based NGO UN Watch said on Monday that it was calling on ambassadors from the US, the EU and other democracies to walk out of the UN’s Conference on Disarmament in Geneva during the four weeks when the Syrian regime’s envoy, Hussam Edin Aala, serves as president of the conference.
“Having the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad preside over global chemical and nuclear weapons disarmament will be like putting a serial rapist in charge of a women’s shelter,” Hillel Neuer — executive director of UN Watch — declared in a statement.
Neuer said his organization was urging the UN “to understand that at a time when Syria is gassing its own men, women, and children to death, to see Syria heading the world body that is supposed to protect these victims will simply shock the conscience of humanity.”

Aftonbladet (Swedish): Syrien får leda FN-arbete – mot kemvapen

Organisationen UN Watchs högste chef, Hillel Neuer, påminner i ett uttalande om att Assadregimens kemvapenattacker är väldokumenterade och utgör de värsta överträdelserna under de tjugo år som Konventionen mot kemiska vapen har existerat.

Breitbart: Syria, Accused of Chemical Weapons Attack, Will Preside Over UN Disarmament Conference    

Geneva-based NGO UN Watch slammed the move, with its executive director Hillel Neuer saying, “Having the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad preside over global chemical and nuclear weapons disarmament will be like putting a serial rapist in charge of a women’s shelter.”
He called the decision “obscene” and added that it “cast[s] a shadow on the reputation of the UN as a whole.”

Syria to chair U.N.'s top disarmament forum

The post Going Viral: UN Watch Report on Syria heading UN disarmament forum appeared first on UN Watch.

Syrian ambassador Hussam Edin Aala, left, with Vladimir Gratchev, representative of Michael Møller, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Disarmament, Geneva, Sept. 3, 2014.

GENEVA, April 9, 2018 – Despite accusations that it perpetrated yet another deadly chemical weapons attack on Saturday, Syria will next month chair the United Nations disarmament forum that produced the treaty banning chemical weapons, sparking calls by an independent monitoring group for the U.S., the EU, and UN chief Antonio Guterres to strongly protest, and for their ambassadors to walk out of the conference during the four weeks of the Syrian presidency. 

The 65-nation Conference on Disarmament, based in Geneva, has also negotiated the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, considered the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament efforts, as well as the convention against biological weapons.

“Having the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad preside over global chemical and nuclear weapons disarmament will be like putting a serial rapist in charge of a women’s shelter,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of United Nations Watch, the Geneva based non-governmental organization. The activist group announced that it intends to hold protest events outside the UN hall featuring Syrian victims of their government’s chemical weapons attacks.

And now this: after gassing its own people to death, #Syria to chair UN disarmament forum on chemical & nuclear weapons; watchdog calls on US & EU to walk out https://t.co/s0JfV2xRZP via @unwatch
cc: @nikkihaley @theresa_may @EmmanuelMacron @AmbJohnBolton

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) April 9, 2018

“The Assad regime’s documented use of chemical weapons remains the most serious violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention in the treaty’s twenty-year history,” said Neuer. “We urge the UN to understand that at a time when Syria is gassing its own men, women, and children to death, to see Syria heading the world body that is supposed to protect these victims will simply shock the conscience of humanity,” said Neuer.

Under UN rules, the Syrian ambassador to the forum, Hussam Edin Aala, will help organize the work of the conference and assist in setting the agenda. Mr. Aala will exercise all functions of a presiding officer and represent the body in its relations with states, the General Assembly and other organs of the United Nations, and with other international organizations. While the post is largely formal, “Syria holding the president’s gavel is liable to seriously undermine the UN’s credibility, and will send absolutely the worst message,” said Neuer.

“United Nations Watch urges the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, and all other member and observers states to refuse to send ambassadors to any meeting of this UN forum that is being chaired by Syria.” The U.S. and Canada pulled out while Iran was chair in 2013, and should do so again.

What UN Chief Guterres Should Do

The UN secretary-general is likely to say the post is merely the result of an automatic rotation, and that the matter can only be addressed by member states.

Yet actions taken by other high UN officials prove he can speak out. When Syria was elected to a UNESCO human rights committee in 2013, the head of that UN body went on record to say that the election was wrong. “Given the developments in Syria, the director-general does not see how this country can contribute to the work of the committees.”

According to Neuer, “past precedent shows that UN officials can act as the world’s moral voice when a UN committee makes obscene decisions which only cast a shadow on the reputation of the UN as a whole.”

He predicted attempts by UN officials to downplay what he described as “a fundamental conflict of interests” to have Syria as president of a disarmament forum, “an act liable to be exploited by Syrian propaganda, as they have done after other UN elections, to legitimize Assad’s cruel regime.”

“A country that flagrantly violates the chemical weapons convention, and which was reported to the UN Security Council by the International Atomic Energy Agency for its covert construction of a nuclear reactor and found in breach of the Nonproliferation Treaty, should be barred from any formal positions in UN bodies dealing with the such vital matters as biological, chemical and nuclear weapons disarmament,” said Neuer.

“The Assad regime simply cannot be a credible chair of this or any other United Nations body. Syria’s use of deadly chemical weapons and its illegal pursuit of nuclear weapons, in breach of its disarmament obligations, run counter to the objectives and fundamental principles of the Conference on Disarmament itself. Syria’s chairmanship will only undermine the integrity of both the disarmament framework and of the United Nations, and no country should support that.”

Syria will assume the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament on May 28 and hold it over four weeks, until June 24.

About the Conference of Disarmament

The Conference of Disarmament (CD) reports to the UN General Assembly and is billed by the UN as “the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community.”

Established in 1979 after a special UN General Assembly session, the CD is made up of 65 countries who have been divided in recent years on key issues.

The conference and its predecessors have negotiated such major multilateral arms limitation and disarmament agreements as:

• Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

• Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction

• Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction

• Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques

• Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

The post Syria to chair UN disarmament forum on chemical & nuclear weapons; watchdog calls on US & EU to walk out appeared first on UN Watch.

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The US decision was announced here:

Statement by Erin Pelton, Spokesperson, U.S. Mission to the United Nations, on Iran’s Rotation as President of the Conference on Disarmament, May 13, 2013
Iran’s upcoming rotation as President of the Conference on Disarmament (CD) is unfortunate and highly inappropriate. The United States continues to believe that countries that are under Chapter VII sanctions for weapons proliferation or massive human-rights abuses should be barred from any formal or ceremonial positions in UN bodies.
While the presidency of the CD is largely ceremonial and involves no substantive responsibilities, allowing Iran–a country that is in flagrant violation of its obligations under multiple UN Security Council Resolutions and to the IAEA Board of Governors–to hold such a position runs counter to the goals and objectives of the Conference on Disarmament itself. As a result, the United States will not be represented at the ambassadorial level during any meeting presided over by Iran.

Canada’s decision was reported by Sun News here:

Canada to boycott UN committee
OTTAWA – Canada condemns the fact Iran will lead a United Nations-sponsored disarmament committee and will express its displeasure by boycotting the forum for the five weeks Iran is in the chair.
“This makes a mockery of disarmament issues and the world’s sincere desire to make progress,” said Rick Roth, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird.
“In Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere, the regime is working directly against global disarmament goals and subverting the fundamental principles of this committee.”
Geneva-based UN Watch said Iran is an outlaw state and already the target of UN sanctions for its nuclear program and other activities in the Middle East.
“This is like putting Jack the Ripper in charge of a women’s shelter,” said Hillel Neuer, the group’s executive director.
Iran takes over leadership of the committee May 27 as part of a rotation among the committee’s 65 members.

The post US & Canada to boycott UN disarmament talks during Iran presidency; France, Germany, UK should follow appeared first on UN Watch.