A UN official has urged the Syrian government to cooperate with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Meanwhile, the director of the Syrian Center for Chemical Violations Documentation considers the regime’s “repeated” claims to be “manipulation” of the OPCW.
Calls for Cooperation
Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, called on the Syrian regime and all concerned parties to fully cooperate to resolve and close all outstanding issues related to the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Out of 24 issues, 17 remain unresolved.
Recent OPCW Report
Nakamitsu’s statement coincided with the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) report from the OPCW regarding two incidents reported by the Syrian regime in 2017, alleging the use of chemical weapons.
The FFM report concluded that the information obtained and analyzed as a whole was “insufficient” to provide reasonable grounds for determining that toxic chemicals were used as weapons in the two reported incidents.
The report highlighted that the information collected did not provide sufficient reasons to believe that toxic chemicals were used as weapons in the incidents. The first incident occurred in Qulayb al-Thawr in the eastern countryside of Salamiyah, Hama on August 9, 2017, and the second in al-Bulayl, in the northern countryside of Hama on November 8, 2017. The Syrian regime claimed that its forces were targeted by ISIS with munitions containing unknown toxic gases in these incidents.
UN Stance on Chemical Weapons
During a UN Security Council meeting on June 11, 2024, the UN official reiterated that any use of chemical weapons is “unacceptable and a clear violation of international law.” She echoed the UN Secretary-General’s previous call to “end impunity for all those who dare to use such weapons, especially against civilians.”
Allegations of Manipulation
Nidal Shikhani, director of Chemical Violations Documentation Center of Syria, noted that the regime’s claim of ISIS using chemical weapons is not the first of its kind. Shikhani asserted that the Syrian regime attempts to “manipulate” the OPCW by reporting multiple incidents of chemical weapon use for hostile purposes in various areas.
Shikhani believes that over the years, the regime has tried to thwart some of the FFM’s efforts and distract it from investigating different areas where the regime itself used chemical weapons on multiple occasions.
Lack of Cooperation
Shikhani explained that the Syrian regime has not adequately cooperated with the OPCW since becoming a member in 2013. The OPCW’s Technical Secretariat handles this file with caution today.
Chemical Attacks and Accountability
The director emphasized that the Syrian regime is implicated in previous chemical attacks in places like latamenah, Douma, Saraqib, and other incidents documented by the OPCW’s Investigation and Identification Team. The team accused the regime’s Tiger Forces and Russia’s Air Force of committing several attacks.
Shikhani stated that the Syrian regime is now “in trouble” with the OPCW, which is seeking more evidence to account for Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile.
chemical_attack chemical_weapons opcw syria
