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Secretary-General's remarks on the Final Report of the UN Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic New York, 16 December 2013 [as prepared for delivery] You will have seen or heard my briefing to the General Assembly on the report of the United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic. And of course, the full and final factual report is in your hands. Today I will briefly review the Mission’s main findings and offer a few comments of a more general nature. I reiterate my appreciation to the Head of the Mission, Professor Åke Sellström, as well as to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the World Health Organization and their teams. I also express my gratitude to all Member States that supported this effort, included those visited by the Mission. We are all now acutely aware that chemical weapons were used not only in the appalling August attack in the Ghouta area of Damascus, but also on several other occasions, including on a small scale, against civilians and military targets. This new and broader knowledge should be of deep concern to all of us. Any use of chemical weapons, by anyone, under any circumstances, is a grave violation of the 1925 Protocol and other relevant rules of customary international law. The use of chemical weapons in Syria was a deplorable offense against the universal values of humankind. Those responsible must be held accountable. The Security Council has said repeatedly that the use of weapons of mass destruction is a serious threat to international [peace] and security, and thus the Council has a primary role in bringing perpetrators to justice. We must also do our utmost to deter future incidents, in Syria or elsewhere. I continue to urge all States that have not yet done so to sign, ratify and accede to the Chemical Weapons Convention without delay. I commend the Security Council for its crucial role in mobilizing the international community to ensure the rapid and verified elimination of all Syrian chemical weapons. Good progress has been made in implementing resolution 2118 and the decisions of the OPCW Executive Council. I encourage the Security Council to strengthen the work of the 1540 Committee in implementing resolution 2118. Through the extraordinary efforts of the OPCW-UN Joint Mission and the support pledged or provided by Member States, all of Syria’s chemical weapons productio