United Nations Security Council Resolution 2118
| UN Security Council Resolution 2118 |
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| Date | 27 September 2013 |
| Meeting no. | 7038 |
| Code | S/RES/2118 (Document) |
| Subject | Agreement to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons — Syrian civil war |
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Voting summary
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15 voted for None voted against None abstained |
| Result | Adopted |
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Permanent members
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Non-permanent members
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United Nations Security Council Resolution 2118 was adopted unanimously on 27 September 2013, in regard to the Framework for Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons during the Syrian civil war. It recalled United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1540, 2042 and 2043 and occurred on the sidelines of the General debate of the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. Syria has until mid-2014 to destroy its chemical weapons arsenal; and the resolution also outlines plans for a transition. Despite a few hiccups, the OPCW reported that the destruction was largely on schedule.
Chemical weapons were used in the 21 August, 2013 Ghouta attacks, according to the United Nations. The Syrian government blamed rebels for the attack and for all other chemical weapons attacks in Syria. In response to the Ghouta events, a coalition of countries led by the U.S. and France, threatened air strikes on Syria as punishment for their claim that the government used the weapons. Russia had earlier sided with the Syrian government and blocked Western-led efforts at the United Nations Security Council for UN-sanctioned military intervention.
During the G20 summit on 6 September, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama discussed the idea of putting Syria's chemical weapons under international control.
On 9 September 2013, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry suggested that the air strikes could be averted if Syria turned over "every single bit" of its chemical weapons stockpiles within a week, but State Department officials stressed that Kerry's statement and its one-week deadline were rhetorical in light of the unlikelihood of Syria turning over its chemical weapons. However, hours after Kerry's statement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Russia had suggested to Syria that it relinquish its chemical weapons and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem immediately welcomed the proposal. This then led to the Framework for Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons. After Syria ratified the treaty to join the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and turned over a preliminary set of documents in regard to its chemical weapons stockpile to the OPCW, more discussions and Russian claims that the West was seeking to ensure air strikes would remain an option if the chemical weapons were not turned over, the United Nations Security Council passed resolution 2118.
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