Secretary-General Appoints Virginia Gamba of Argentina Head of Security Council Joint Investigative Mechanism on Chemical Weapon Use in Syria

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Virginia Gamba of Argentina to head the independent three-member panel to be set up to lead the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism established by Security Council resolution 2235 (2015) on the use of chemicals as weapons in Syria.

Ms. Gamba is currently serving as Director and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs in the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs.  She will assume overall responsibility of the Joint Investigative Mechanism with two Deputies responsible for the political and investigative components respectively.

Ms. Gamba will bring to the Joint Investigative Mechanism more than 30 years of experience and professional leadership on disarmament.  In particular, Ms. Gamba has displayed outstanding leadership in various international initiatives to promote the disarmament agenda and provided key support to two earlier missions related to chemical weapons in Syria lead by Professor Åke Sellström and Sigrid Kaag respectively.

The appointment was made following the usual consultations and in coordination with the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

The Secretary-General reiterates his call for all parties in Syria to cooperate fully with the Joint Investigative Mechanism.  He counts on the continued engagement and support of the members of the Security Council, as well as the entire United Nations membership to ensure the effective implementation of this resolution.