UN votes to probe Syria chemical weapons attack

Russia lends rare support to US drive to determine whether Assad is behind increasing number of alleged chlorine attacks

By AFP, ToI Staff and AP 7 August 2015, 6:04 pm

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Investigators take samples from sand near a part of a missile that was suspected of carrying chemical agents, according to activists, in the countryside of Ain Terma, Syria, August 28, 2013. (AP/United Media Office of Arbeen, File)

The UN Security Council voted unanimously Friday to set up a panel to identify who is behind deadly chlorine gas attacks in Syria, which the West blames on Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.

Russia, Syria’s veto-wielding ally, endorsed the measure during a vote at the 15-member council that marked a rare display of unity over how to address the conflict.

Under discussion for months, the US-drafted resolution sets up a team of experts tasked with identifying the perpetrators of the chemical weapons attacks and paves the way for possible sanctions to punish them.

The US has been pressing for the council to take action to ensure accountability for an increasing number of alleged chlorine attacks that have caused deaths and injuries. Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said in June the council should look for the best way to ensure that people allegedly responsible for chlorine attacks are brought before a court.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the global chemical weapons watchdog, has a mandate to carry out fact-finding missions to determine whether there have been chemical attacks. But neither the OPCW nor the UN have a mandate to determine responsibility for the use of chlorine or chemical weapons.

Following a chemical weapon attack on a Damascus suburb that killed hundreds of civilians on August 21, 2013 a US-Russian agreement led to a Security Council resolution the following month ordering the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons, precursors, and the equipment to produce the deadly agents.

The Syrian government’s support for the resolution and decision to join the OPCW warded off possible US military strikes in the aftermath of the attack, which Damascus denied carrying out.

Syria’s declared stockpile of 1,300 metric tons of chemicals has been destroyed, but the OPCW is still investigating outstanding questions about possible undeclared chemical weapons.

Chlorine is not a banned agent used in chemical weapons, like sarin or ricin. But it is toxic and its use in attacks in Syria started being reported last year.

In March, the Security Council approved a US-drafted resolution that condemns the use of toxic chemicals such as chlorine in Syria, and threatens further measures including sanctions in the case of violations.