Syria faces sanctions at chemical weapons watchdog
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20/04/2021 - 09:06 The UN chemical weapons watchdog could hand down this week and for the first time its maximum punishment available to Syria Jerry Lampen ANP/AFP/File 3 min
The Hague (AFP)
The world s chemical weapons watchdog will decide this week whether to impose unprecedented sanctions on Syria for its alleged use of toxic arms and failure to declare its arsenal.
Member states of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will weigh a French proposal to suspend Syria s rights and privileges at the body, including its ability to vote.
Syrian victims of chemical weapons attacks file complaint with Swedish police
Complaint filed with Swedish police against Syrian authorities, including President Bashar al-Assad, over attacks in 2013 and 2017
A Syrian boy holds an oxygen mask over the face of an infant following a reported gas attack on a rebel-held area in Douma on 22 January 2018 (AFP/File photo) By Published date: 19 April 2021 21:46 UTC | Last update: 1 min 7 sec ago
Lawyers representing victims of suspected chemical weapons attacks in Syria have filed a criminal complaint in Sweden, which calls for a war crimes probe to be opened into alleged actions taken by high-ranking Syrian government officials.
Four NGOs have announced they have filed a criminal complaint in Sweden against members of the Syrian government, including President Bashar al-Assad, over chemical weapons attacks in 2013 and 2017.
In the complaint filed with Swedish police, the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), Civil Rights Defenders, Syrian Archive (SA), and the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) accuse Syrian officials of chemical attacks using sarin gas, in Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib probvince in 2017 and Ghouta near the capital Damascus in 2013.
“By filing the complaint, we want to support the victims’ struggle for truth and justice,” Hadi al-Khatib, founder and director of Syrian Archive, said in a statement.
April 20, 2021 Share
A group of 46 nations called Tuesday on member states of the global chemical weapons watchdog to diplomatically rebuke Syria for using toxic gas and nerve agents in the country’s decade-long civil war.
French Ambassador Luis Vassy proposed stripping Syria of its voting rights at the annual meeting of members of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
“We owe this to the Syrian people,” Vassy said.
The proposal, which has support from countries that include the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia, is expected to be put to a vote Wednesday morning.
Vassy said Syria’s use of prohibited chemical weapons was “irrefutable,” and he urged OPCW member states to back his attempt to strip Damascus of its rights, saying “we cannot let indifference win.”