A statement issued by his spokesperson in New York confirms that the Secretary-General, in his capacity of the depositary of the 1992 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, yesterday received the formal instrument of accession to the treaty by Syria.

“The Convention will enter into force for [Syria] on the 30th day following the date of deposit of this instrument of accession, namely on 14 October 2013,” the statement says, adding that the Convention can be acceded to at any time and that the UN chief welcomes Syria’s decision.

In a separate statement released earlier yesterday, Ban welcomed the agreement reached by Russian Federation Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and United States Secretary of State John Kerry on a framework for the safeguarding and destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles.

Announcement of the deal came after three days of intense talks in Geneva, Switzerland, between Lavrov and Kerry. It culminates a week of diplomatic activity noted by the media, kicked off earlier by the announcement of Russia’s proposal for Damascus to surrender its chemical weapons and place them under international control.

On Thursday, a UN spokesperson confirmed that the Secretary-General had received a letter from the Damascus informing him that Syrian President Bassar Al-Assad planned to sign and abide by the Chemical Weapons Convention.

In the meantime, evidence collected by a UN team probing possible chemical weapons use in Syria on 21 August is being examined by laboratories in Europe. The team, which the Secretary-General has said is “working around the clock,” is expected to submit its report to him in due course.

In the statement issued yesterday, Ban looks forward to learning more of this framework agreed by Russia and the United States and pledges the support of the United Nations in its implementation.

“The Secretary-General expresses his fervent hope that the agreement will, first, prevent any future use of chemical weapons in Syria and, second, help pave the path for a political solution to stop the appalling suffering inflicted on the Syrian people,” says the statement.

As for talks on a political path out of the more than two year crisis, United Nations-Arab League Joint Representative Lakhdar Brahimi has been pressing ahead with his efforts towards the holding of a long-proposed international peace conference on Syria, commonly referred to as “Geneva II”, after the Swiss city in which it would be held.

On Friday, Brahimi hosted at UN Headquarters in Geneva talks with Lavrov and Kerry on the convening of the conference. In remarks to the press, the envoy said: “The work you are doing is extremely important in itself […] but also important for all those working with you to bring forward the Geneva conference successfully.”

At a press conference held at UN Headquarters in Geneva after the meeting, Mr. Brahimi spoke alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and United States Secretary of State John Kerry. The two Government officials have been meeting in Geneva since Thursday discussing a Russian proposal for Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control.

“The work you are doing is extremely important in itself … but also important for all those working with you to bring forward the Geneva conference successfully,” Mr. Brahimi told reporters, referring to the long-proposed international peace conference on Syria commonly referred to as “Geneva II.”

Mr. Brahimi has been hard at work on the diplomatic front to bring the conference to fruition, including in discussions last week at the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg. The goal of a second Geneva conference would to be to achieve a political solution to the conflict through a comprehensive agreement between the Syrian Government and the opposition for the full implementation of the Geneva communiqué, adopted after the first international meeting on the issue on 30 June 2012.

In his comments, Mr. Kerry thanked the United Nations and Mr. Brahimi for hosting discussions on Geneva II. Those discussions have been productive and timely, as he and Mr. Lavrov were meeting on Russia’s recent initiative to “gain control of, remove and destroy chemical weapons in Syria and we would both agree that we have constructive conversations.”

“President is Obama is deeply committed to a negotiated solution and we know that Russia is likewise. We are working hard to find common ground to make that happen. We have both agreed to do homework required to make it happen,” Mr. Kerry said, announcing that he and Mr. Lavrov planned to meet in New York during the general debate of the UN General Assembly, which will open on 24 September.

While the two leaders would further consider the matter, including possibly settling on a date for the Geneva II conference, much of the way ahead “will depend on achieving success in the next hours and days” on the question of Syria’s chemical weapons, Mr. Kerry said.

“Both of us, Sergei Lavrov and I, our countries, our Presidents, are deeply concerned about the death toll and destruction and the acts on all sides that are creating more and more refugees, more and more of a humanitarian catastrophe,” he said, adding that the two Governments were committed to working together.

Speaking next, Mr. Lavrov said that now that Syria has signed the legislative decree providing for the accession of Syria to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, “we have to engage our professionals … and the United Nations to design a road so that the issue is resolved quickly, professionally as soon as practical.

“We are very glad that Mr. Brahimi has invited us to discuss a longer term goal for Syria, namely preparations for the so-called Geneva II conference. From the very beginning of the Syrian conflict, Russia and the Russian President have been promoting a peaceful resolution,” he said.

Mr Lavrov noted that Russia had initiated of the conference from which had emerged the Geneva communiqué agreed and signed “by nearly all the major players, including the United Nations, countries in the region and the P-5 [the permanent members of the Security Council].”

“It is very unfortunate that for a long period the communiqué was basically abandoned and we were not able to have Security Council endorsement of the very important document as is,” he said, thanking Mr. Kerry for his efforts to re-energize the communiqué and work with Russia towards its implementation including through the holding of a new Geneva conference. He said he was very grateful for the discussions with Mr. Brahimi.

Meanwhile, the President of the UN Human Rights Council, which is currently in session in Geneva, issued a letter to both Mr. Lavrov and Mr. Kerry drawing their attention o the work of the independent international commission of inquiry on Syria, which the Council established in 2011.

The Council President, Ambassador Remigiusz Henczel of Poland stressed that the commission had yet to be granted access to Syria, despite repeated calls on Damascus to allow the experts to enter the country. The Council President suggests that the Russian and US officials might take up the matter during the scope of their meetings in Geneva.

The commission presented its latest report to the Human Rights Council on Monday, citing ongoing incidents of murder, rape, torture, widespread attacks on civilians and hostage-taking committed by Syrian forces and anti-Government armed groups. It said that “the perpetrators of these violations and crimes, on all sides, act in defiance of international law. They do not fear accountability.”

The panel, which described Syria today as “a battlefield [where] massacres are perpetrated with impunity [and] and untold number of Syrians have disappeared,” reported that Government and pro-Government forces in Syria have continued to conduct widespread attacks on the civilian population with impunity, committing murder, torture, rape and enforced disappearance as crimes against humanity, stressed that there is no military solution to the conflict.

In a statement to the press issued in New York, the Council’s 15 members condemned the attack – reportedly a suicide truck bombing – on the US consulate in the Western Afghan province, for which the Taliban have claimed responsibility.

The Security Council in its statement expressed deep sympathy and sincere condolences to the families of the victims of this “heinous” act, and to the Government and people of Afghanistan.

Council members also condemned acts of violence against diplomatic and consular representatives, which endanger or take innocent lives and seriously impede the normal work of such representatives and officials.

Further to the statement, the Council reiterated its “serious concern” at the threats posed by the Taliban, Al-Qaida and illegal armed groups to the local population, national security forces, diplomatic facilities, international military and international assistance efforts in Afghanistan, particularly in light of a number of recent terrorist attacks in Kabul and elsewhere in the country.

“The members of the Security Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Afghan authorities in this regard,” the statement stresses.

Reaffirming that terrorism “in all its forms and manifestations” is criminal and unjustifiable, the Council also reaffirmed the need to combat by all means, in accordance with the UN Charter and all obligations under international law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.

Finally the members of the Council reiterated that no terrorist act can reverse the path towards Afghan-led peace, democracy and stability in Afghanistan, “which is supported by the people and the Government of Afghanistan and the international community.”

The new national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted Aug. 29-Sept. 1 among 1,000 adults, finds that Obama has significant ground to make up in his own party. Just 29% of Democrats favor conducting airstrikes against Syria while 48% are opposed. Opinion among independents is similar (29% favor, 50% oppose). Republicans are more divided, with 35% favoring airstrikes and 40% opposed.

The public has long been skeptical of U.S. involvement in Syria, but an April survey found more support than opposition to the idea of a U.S.-led military response if the use of chemical weapons was confirmed. The new survey finds both broad concern over the possible consequences of military action in Syria and little optimism it will be effective.

Three-quarters (74%) believe that U.S. airstrikes in Syria are likely to create a backlash against the United States and its allies in the region and 61% think it would be likely to lead to a long-term U.S. military commitment there. Meanwhile, just 33% believe airstrikes are likely to be effective in discouraging the use of chemical weapons; roughly half (51%) think they are not likely to achieve this goal.

However, most believe Assad is guilty of using chemical weapons; 53% say there is clear evidence that the Syrian government used them against civilians there while just 23% say there is no clear evidence of a chemical attack. While those who think the evidence is clear offer modestly more support for airstrikes, even here as many oppose as support U.S. military involvement (41% each).

A Third Say Obama Has Made Case for Airstrikes

Overall, just 32% of Americans say Obama has explained clearly why the U.S. should launch military airstrikes against Syria while 48% say he has not explained the reasons clearly enough.

Although Democrats tend to oppose airstrikes against Syria, they give higher marks than Republicans to Obama for making the case for military action.

About half of Democrats (52%) say Obama has clearly explained reasons for conducting airstrikes in Syria, while 33% say he has not. Majorities of Republicans (60%) and independents (54%) say he has not explained the rationale for airstrikes clearly enough.

Most independents (58%) and Republicans (54%) also say that U.S. airstrikes in Syria are not likely to be effective in discouraging the use of chemical weapons. Democrats are more closely divided – nearly as many say they will not be effective (40%) in achieving this goal as say they will (46%).

There is less disagreement over other possible consequences of military action: Majorities of Republicans (77%), independents (77%) and Democrats (71%) say U.S. airstrikes are likely to create an anti-U.S. backlash in the region, while smaller majorities in all three groups also say they are likely to lead to a long U.S. commitment in Syria.

Gender Gap over Syrian Airstrikes

Men are twice as likely as women to favor U.S. military airstrikes against Syria. Among men, nearly as many favor (39%) as oppose (46%) the proposed military action. Among women, just 19% support airstrikes, while 49% are opposed. Women are more uncertain about what to do at this point – 31% offer no opinion compared with just 15% of men.

There are few other major demographic differences of opinion: for example, young and old, college graduates and those with no college offer similar levels of support and opposition.

Support for military airstrikes runs somewhat higher among those who have followed the story the most closely: 37% of those who say they have tracked news about the possibility of airstrikes “very closely” favor airstrikes compared with just 21% of those who say they have followed “not too” or “not at all” closely. Yet opposition to the idea is prevalent regardless of people’s level of interest – nearly half oppose airstrikes among the most and least attentive segments of the public.

Those who see clear evidence of chemical weapons use by Syria – and those who say Obama has clearly explained reasons for using military force – are divided over whether the U.S. should conduct airstrikes. Among the 53% of Americans who say there is clear evidence the Syrian government used chemical weapons against civilians, opinion is split evenly as to whether the U.S. should (41%) or should not (41%) conduct airstrikes. Among the 32% who say Obama has explained clearly why the U.S. should launch airstrikes, 42% favor doing so, while 38% remain opposed.

The Week’s News

Roughly four-in-ten (39%) followed news about potential U.S. airstrikes in Syria “very closely.” The percentage following news about Syria very closely has approximately doubled from recent weeks, when no more than about 20% tracked Syrian developments very closely, including earlier charges this year that the government used chemical weapons.

Americans paid more attention to the Syrian developments than other stories this week, including news about the health care laws (23% very closely), wildfires in California (20%) and the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington (20%). About one-in-ten (9%) very closely followed the news about the NFL’s agreement with former players about concussion-related lawsuits.

The resolution passed by a vote of 10-7 , with one senator voting “present”.

The vote by the panel clears the way for a vote on the resolution in the full Senate, most likely next week, according to Reuters.

“We have high confidence that Syria used, in an indiscriminate fashion, chemical weapons that killed thousands of people, including over 400 children, and in direct violation of the international norm against using chemical weapons. That poses a serious national security threat to the United States and to the region, and as a consequence, Assad and Syria needs to be held accountable,” US president Barack Obama said in a statement before meeting with members of Congress on Syria.

“I’ve made a decision that America should take action. But I also believe that we will be much more effective, we will be stronger, if we take action together as one nation,” he added.

The resolution would authorize President Barack Obama to order a limited military operation on Syria that wouldn’t exceed 90 days and involve American troops on the ground, Al Arabiya reported.

Meanwhile, the United Nations refugee agency and senior Government ministers from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey – countries which together host more than 1.7 million Syrian refugees – called today on the international community to “overcome differences” to stop the fighting in Syria, as the made an urgent appeal for expanded assistance to the region.

“We are facing the dramatic escalation of the Syrian conflict, namely with the use of chemical weapons,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said in an agreed statement with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs Wael Abu Faour and Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

“A political solution to end this cycle of horror is “urgently needed,” Mr. Guterres and the ministers said: “There is no humanitarian solution to the Syrian crisis; rather there needs to be a political solution that ends the humanitarian crisis.”

The joint statement follows a half-day meeting chaired by Mr. Guterres with representatives of the four countries that host the majority of the 2 million refugees who have fled Syria since March 2011. And additional 4.25 million people are displaced within Syria, according to UN figures.

UNHCR and its partners in June appealed to donors for $4.4 billion for Syria relief operations this year, including $3 billion to meet humanitarian and host community needs in the immediate surrounding region. About 40 per cent of this component has been funded.

“There is an urgent need for the violence to end. Far too many lives have been lost already and the conflict has generated a huge and heart-rending humanitarian crisis,” Mr. Ban said as he addressed reporters in Geneva.

“The US-Russian initiative to bring Syrian parties to the negotiating table is the best chance for a lasting solution that will deliver peace and save lives,” he added. “It is essential that we do everything possible to ensure that this conference takes place as soon as possible. I urge the international community to fully commit to a political process.”

In May, following talks in Moscow between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry, the two countries announced they would work together to achieve a political solution to the Syria crisis, and agreed to convene an international conference aimed at achieving this goal.

However, a date for the conference has not yet been set and talks are continuing on the best time for it to be held, who should participate, how it should be structured and some of the questions to be discussed.

It is expected that both the Government side and the opposition groups will send their delegations, Mr. Ban said, while noting that there is a question of who will represent the Syrian people.

He said that the opposition are expected to send a delegation that can “really represent the voices and positions” of opposition groups. “We also expect that the Government delegation will also be fully empowered so that they can fully engage in negotiations with the Joint Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.”

There is also the issue of the scope of participation, particularly Iran and Saudi Arabia. “Member States have not been able to agree on whether and if their voices needed to be heard and in what way,” said Mr. Ban.

More than 93,000 people have been killed, and 1.5 million more have fled to neighbouring countries, since fighting began in March 2011 between the Syrian Government and opposition groups seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad.

“The people of Syria want peace and hope. Yet all they see is death upon death. All they hear is talks after talks,” said Mr. Ban.

“People are dying. Families are fleeing. Syria’s fires are spreading. They may soon engulf the whole region,” he warned.

“I once again call on all those with influence to hear the cry of the Syrian people and the call of history: Act and act now.”

“Despite the intensified dialogue between the Agency and Iran since January 2012, during which time 10 rounds of talks have been held, no agreement has been reached,” Director General Yukiya Amano told the Agency’s Board of Governors at a meeting in Vienna.

“To be frank, for some time now, we have been going around in circles. This is not the right way to address issues of such great importance to the international community, including Iran,” he stated.

Mr. Amano said Iran is not providing the necessary cooperation to enable the IAEA to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities. “The Agency therefore cannot conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities,” he said.

“Iran continues to advance its heavy water-related projects. The number of centrifuges installed by Iran also continues to increase, as does the amount of enriched uranium it holds,” he continued. “These activities are in clear contravention of resolutions adopted by the Board of Governors and the United Nations Security Council.”

Iran’s nuclear programme – which its officials have stated is for peaceful purposes, but some other countries contend is driven by military ambitions – has been a matter of international concern since the discovery in 2003 that the country had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The IAEA has been engaged with Tehran on a structured approach to resolving all outstanding issues. Mr. Amano reported that no agreement has been reached so far on the structured approach document.

“We need to achieve concrete results without further delay to restore international confidence in the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear activities,” he stated. “In order to achieve that objective, the Agency has made clear its view of the elements which the structured approach should contain.

“First and foremost, Iran has to address the Agency’s requirement to conduct effective verification. Unless Iran does so, it will not be possible for the Agency to resolve outstanding issues, including those relating to possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear programme.”

He called on Iran to engage with the Agency to achieve concrete results in resolving all outstanding issues “with a sense of urgency.”

Mr. Amano also told the 35-nation Board that he remains concerned about the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), particularly since its announcement of a third test of a nuclear weapon in February.

“Once again, I strongly urge the DPRK to fully implement all relevant resolutions of the Security Council, the IAEA General Conference and the Board of Governors,” said Mr. Amano.

“I reiterate my call for the DPRK to fully comply with the NPT and to cooperate promptly and fully with the Agency. The IAEA remains ready to contribute to the peaceful resolution of this issue by resuming its nuclear verification activities once political agreement is reached among the countries concerned.”

The Board of Governors, one of the Agency’s main policy-making bodies, meets five times a year at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna. It is meeting to discuss the IAEA’s work on nuclear verification, safety, security and the peaceful use of nuclear technologies.

“It is my sincere hope that we can convene an international conference on Syria as soon as possible to help parties come to the negotiating table,” Mr. Ban said at a joint press conference in Sochi with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Last week, following talks in Moscow between Mr. Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry, the two countries announced they would work together to achieve a political solution to the Syria crisis, and agreed to convene an international conference aimed at achieving this goal.

“I thanked the Foreign Minister for working with US Secretary of State Kerry on finding a way forward,” said Mr. Ban. “Now our challenge is to build on the momentum that Foreign Minister Lavrov and Secretary Kerry have helped to generate.”

He added that although a date for the conference has not yet been set, it should take place soon. “We will try to fix a date as soon as possible. We should not lose this momentum generated by Minister Lavrov and Secretary Kerry. There is high expectation that this meeting should be held as soon as possible.”

Since March 2011, fighting between the Syrian Government and opposition forces seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad has killed more than 70,000 people, and left 6.8 million people in need. In addition, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced today that the number of Syrian civilians who have fled their country to escape conflict has passed the 1.5 million mark.

“The crisis in Syria is first and foremost on our minds,” Mr. Ban stated. “I am deeply concerned about the ongoing violence and the terrible impact on millions of civilians.”

The Secretary-General and Mr. Lavrov also discussed how the Syria crisis is affecting the wider region, including countries such as Lebanon and Jordan. They also exchanged views on a number of other issues, including the Middle East peace process, the situation in Afghanistan, climate change, and the situation on the Korean peninsula.

Mr. Ban also discussed these issues today with President Vladimir Putin, with whom he underscored the importance of the strong partnership between the UN and Russia. He commended the emphasis Russia places on multilateral diplomacy in addressing key global challenges, according to a read-out of the talks.

The announcement that the settlements would be authorised was made in response to a Supreme Court petition by the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now.

On Tuesday, Israel submitted a formal response to Peace Now’s Supreme Court petition against six illegal outposts. In the response the government declares its intention to legalize four outposts, in isolated areas.

The former government had previously promised to remove the illegal construction built on private land, but had not declared its intention to legalize the outposts, according to Peace Now.

The Supreme Court will hold a hearing on the petition on Wednesday, May 22nd

As for the two remaining outposts on the petition, the Government states that most of the structures that were built on private land were removed, but does not say anything about the future of the outposts themselves.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry which is due to meet the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in attempt to revive peace talks.

“The intention to legalize outposts as new settlements is no less than a slap in the face of Secretary Kerry’s new process and is blatant reassurance to settler interests,” Peace Now said in a statement.

Negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian have been stalled since 2010, and while Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that he is ready to resume talks at any time, he has refused to meet the Palestinians’ preconditions — notably, a freeze to all settlement construction in West Bank.

On Tuesday, the US and Russia reportedly agreed to convene an international conference to find a political solution to the Syria crisis, adding that they would encourage both Damascus and the opposition to negotiate. The announcement came after talks in Moscow between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“The statements made in Moscow constitute a very significant first step forward. It is nevertheless only a first step,” Mr. Brahimi said in a statement, adding that this is the first “hopeful news” concerning Syria in a very long time.

A statement issued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson noted that the Secretary-General and Mr. Brahimi have asserted from the outset their conviction that a negotiated political solution is the only way to end this “prolonged and ever-deepening” crisis.

“The goal should be clear to all – it must be an end to violence, a clean break from the past and a transition to a new Syria in which the rights of all communities are protected and the legitimate aspirations of all the people in Syria for freedom, dignity and justice are met,” the statement said.

Mr. Brahimi, who is currently attending a meeting of The Elders in Ireland, has called on the US and Russia to exercise leadership and work together to initiate a process to implement the Geneva Declaration of 30 June 2012.

That document – issued after a meeting in the Swiss city of the Action Group for Syria – lays out key steps in a process to end the violence. Among other items, it calls for the establishment of a transitional governing body, with full executive powers and made up by members of the present Government and the opposition and other groups, as part of agreed principles and guidelines for a Syrian-led political transition.

“There is every reason to expect the three other permanent members of the Security Council as a whole and indeed all the Security Council members to work together amongst themselves and with the Secretary-General to carry the process forward,” said Mr. Brahimi.

“Naturally the Syrians themselves – all the Syrians – will occupy pride of place in the process that should be launched as early as possible. It is equally important that the entire region mobilises in the support of the process,” he added.

In addition to the tens of thousands killed, some 4.25 million people have been displaced since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011, with more than 1.4 million of them taking refuge in neighbouring countries.

The UN estimates that some 6.8 million people inside Syria are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance – nearly half of them children.