International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons

Madam Chair,

We would like to thank France for organising this informal meeting and for taking the opportunity to update the Geneva-based disarmament community on the latest developments with regard to the International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons.

The EU was present at the Launching Conference held in Paris on 23 January 2018 and our representatives participated in the Expert and Ministerial meetings convened on 17 and 18 May 2018.

We strongly support the view that it is the international community’s responsibility to identify and hold accountable individuals, entities, groups or governments responsible for the use or the development of chemical weapons and for the use of toxic chemicals as a weapon. The use of chemical weapons, including the use of any toxic chemicals as weapons, by anyone, be it a State, or a non-State actor, anywhere, and under any circumstances is abhorrent and must be rigorously condemned. The use of chemical weapons is unacceptable, constitutes a breach of international law and may amount to a war crime or a crime against humanity. There can be no impunity and those responsible for such acts must be held accountable.

The EU supports the total prohibition and elimination of chemical weapons worldwide. While the scope of the International Partnership is universal and not country-specific, the continued chemical weapons attacks in Syria and elsewhere underline the urgency of international efforts to fight impunity.

We reiterate our strongest condemnation of the repeated use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Arab Republic and Da’esh, as confirmed by the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM). We fully support the work of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) to continue investigating allegations of use of chemical weapons and we deeply regret that the mandate of JIM, established by UN Security Council Resolution 2235 to identify perpetrators of chemical attacks in Syria, was not renewed in November 2017. Restoring an independent mechanism for attribution is particularly important in this regard.

The EU has consistently taken action against the confirmed use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Armed Forces and Da’esh by imposing restrictive measures.  We are determined to use every means at our disposal to ensure that there is no room for impunity and that those responsible for such acts are sanctioned accordingly. In July 2017 and in March 2018, the EU imposed additional restrictive measures against Syrian high-level officials and scientists for their role in the development and use of chemical weapons and we are ready to consider imposing further measures.

On 22 March 2018, the European Council condemned in the strongest possible terms the attack in Salisbury, expressing its unqualified solidarity with the UK and agreeing with the UK Government's assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation.

The EU reiterates its strong support for the Chemical Weapons Convention and the 1925 Geneva Protocol. In the current context of re-emergence of chemical weapons, and in the aftermath of the Salisbury incident, and the large chemical attacks in Syria, we support the call for a Special Conference of States Parties to the Convention to take place in June to discuss ways to underpin the global norm against chemical weapons use. We encourage all countries to support this proposal and take this opportunity to express their views on the current challenges to the CWC.

Thank you, Madam Chair