UN chief urges prosecution of those responsible for chemical attacks in Syria

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, said on Wednesday that the work of the UN fact-finding mission on chemical weapons in Syria has not yet finished and that the mission continues its investigation on the use of toxic substances in Idlib province.

In his report to the UN Security Council members on Wednesday, Ban emphasised the need to hold those involved in the use of chemical weapons in Syria accountable.

“The use of toxic chemicals as weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic requires a deeper level of thinking about how best to respond, and I have said repeatedly that those responsible must be held accountable and that the use of chemical weapons by any party to the conflict and under any circumstance cannot be tolerated,” he told members of the Council.

With regard to the destruction of 12 chemical weapons production facilities in Syria, the Secretary-General said the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has verified that all five underground structures have been destroyed, as well as a barn using explosives that arrived last month.

“The continuing allegations about the use of toxic chemicals as weapons means that the work of the fact-finding mission to investigate the allegations is not complete yet, and that the fact-finding mission team that visited Damascus will return to the Syrian Arab Republic soon to investigate additional incidents,” he added.

The UN Security Council last week unanimously adopted resolution 2235, which requires the establishment of a one-year Joint Investigative Mechanism of the United Nations and OPCW that would identify “to the greatest extent feasible” individuals, entities, groups or Governments “perpetrating, organising, sponsoring or otherwise involved in the use of chemicals as weapons in Syria.”