Participants in a conference that was held in the French capital Paris on Friday called for holding accountable those involved in the use of chemical weapons around the world, especially in Syria. They criticized Russia for using its veto power on the UN Security Council several times to block attempts to hold the Assad regime accountable for dozens of chemical attacks against civilians.
France was on Friday hosting leading diplomats from 32 countries for a meeting of a new body aimed at better identifying and punishing those who use chemical weapons, especially in Syria.
Countries comprising the International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons condemned the repeated use of chemical weapons in Syria by the Assad regime.
Participants in the conference also criticized Russia, calling on Moscow to “reconsider its position so that new attribution mechanism may be established” in an attempt to overcome Russia’s obstruction of efforts at the UN Security Council.
The Paris conference came days after the international chemical weapons watchdog said on Wednesday that chlorine was likely used as a weapon in the rebel-held town of Saraqib in rural Idlib in early February.
A chlorine and sarin attack in the town of Douma on April 7 this year triggered punitive missile strikes against Assad regime’s chemical weapons facilities by the United States, Britain and France. The attack killed and injured hundreds of civilians. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
