The UN Security Council has once again fallen short of taking decisive action to hold those responsible for chemical weapon use in Syria accountable, as the regular session concluded on Tuesday. Discussions centered on the issue of chemical weapons in Syria yielded no new outcomes.
During the session, representatives from UN Security Council member states received a briefing from Adedeji Ebo, the Deputy High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. Ebo highlighted that the Assad regime failed to provide sufficient information that could bring investigations to a close. Western nations, led by the United States, emphasized the urgency of holding Bashar al-Assad accountable for his violations against civilians.
Ebo revealed that the efforts of the Technical Secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to facilitate the 25th round of consultations between the assessment team and the Assad regime have faced significant obstacles. The regime officials have not furnished the necessary documents, stalling progress. Ebo emphasized that the absence of accountability for chemical weapon use poses a threat to international peace and security, endangering all.
Simultaneously, Linda Thomas Greenfield, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, underlined the imperative of holding the Assad regime accountable. The Assad regime’s involvement in deploying chemical weapons against Syrian civilians has been substantiated by international investigations. Greenfield pointed to the August 21, 2013 sarin attack by the Assad regime in eastern Ghouta near Damascus. This horrific assault claimed over 1,400 lives, including many children.
Greenfield urged the UN Security Council to persist in its scrutiny of the matter. She affirmed that the Assad regime’s use of weapons of mass destruction against Syrians will not go unpunished. The US remains dedicated to achieving justice for the victims of Ghouta and other attacks.
The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) earlier voiced the plight of victims of the Assad regie’s chemical attacks. It stressed that justice is still awaited, along with accountability for war crimes committed by Bashar al-Assad in collaboration with allies.
The SOC underscored the Assad regime’s continued impunity, despite impartial reports establishing its culpability for numerous war crimes. OPCW confirmed the regime’s responsibility for chemical weapon use in Saraqib, Al-Lataminah, and Douma. This persistent impunity represents a substantial failure in the implementation mechanism of UN international resolutions aimed at war criminals.
The SOC urged the imposition of measures against the Assad regime under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter. The call comes as the regime has shown indifference to UN Resolution 2118 and has used chemical weapons against civilians on 184 occasions since ratifying the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use and Manufacturing of Chemical Weapons in September 2013.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
