Communiqué from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on the situation in Syria

THE Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) profoundly laments the loss of human life and expresses its most serious concerns regarding the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic and the dangers this could entail for the Middle East region and for international peace and security.

CELAC expresses its most energetic condemnation of the use of chemical weapons and any other weapon of mass destruction, independently of where these might be utilized and whosoever might utilize them, and its member states confirm their full commitment to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction.

It thus appeals to all those who have reliable evidence of the use of chemical weapons in Syria and of those making use of them, to present this evidence to the investigation mechanisms made available by the United Nations, as a contribution to the facts being fully clarified and any consequences prevented.

The organization asks the Security Council, on the basis of its authority and the report of the United Nations Investigative Mission, to intensify its efforts for peace, in order to halt the aggressions, and conclude, pending verification of the use of chemical weapons, that those responsible for such deeds do not remain unpunished. CELAC recalls that any action can only be undertaken by the Security Council, in accordance with the United Nations Charter.

CELAC, which reiterates its commitment to peace and respect for the principles consecrated in the United Nations Charter and international law, including humanitarian international law, demands an immediate end to the violence and the protection of the civilian population, and makes a strong call for an end to supplies of armaments to Syrian territory and to all parties, to avoid aggression and attacks on the civilian population, and to create the conditions to advance toward a negotiated political solution to the conflict in Syria, which has cost the lives of thousands of innocent people.

In this context, CELAC appeals to the United Nations Secretary General to continue his efforts to achieve an end to the conflict and reiterates its support for UN Special Representative Lakdar Brahimi and the Arab League, and the convening of an international conference on the situation in Syria.