OPCW report confirms use of chemical weapons in April 4 attack in Khan Shaykhun area in Syria

After the completion of a fact-finding mission (FFM) from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the organization recently confirmed the use of sarin gas on April 4 in the Khan Shaykhun area, Idlib Province in the Syrian Arab Republic.

OPCW’s final report was conducted with the use of interviewee testimonies, open-source research, documents and related records, and the characteristics of samples, including those provided by the Syrian government. Additionally, organization researchers were able to attend autopsies, collect bio-medical samples from casualties and analyze environmental samples.

According to the OPCW, its FFM mandate was to determine whether chemical weapons or toxic chemicals were used in Syria. However, it did not include identifying who exactly was responsible for the alleged attacks.

The final report was subsequently shared with all State Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention and the OPCW Executive Council, who will consider the report’s findings at a designated meeting on July 5.

“I strongly condemn this atrocity, which wholly contradicts the norms enshrined in the Chemical Weapons Convention,” OPCW Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü said. “The perpetrators of this horrific attack must be held accountable for their crimes. In this context, the work of the [OPCW-United Nations’] Joint Investigative Mechanism assumes high importance.”

Established in 2015 as a result of a United Nations’ (UN) Security Council resolution, the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism was established with a mandate to identify, to the greatest-extent feasible, individuals, entities, groups or governments who were perpetrators, organizers, sponsors, involved in the use of chemical weapons.

OPCW serves as the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Entered into force in 1997, the convention represents the most-successful disarmament treaty in history targeting an entire class of weapons.

To date, approximately 95 percent of all chemical weapons stockpiles declares by OPCW’s 192 member states have been destroyed under the organization’s verification.