OPCW – Fight against impunity for the use of chemical weapons – Statement by Jean-Yves Le Drian (28 June 2018)
Yesterday, by a very large majority, the States Parties to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) adopted the mandate given to the organization to identify and name the perpetrators of chemical attacks in Syria.
This decision will also allow the organization to gradually obtain universal methods of investigation and attribution and to strengthen its ability to verify nations’ chemical stockpiles and capacities.
I welcome this decision by the States Parties, who seized an historic opportunity to combat impunity for those who use or develop chemical weapons and to pass on a more peaceful, more secure world to future generations.
This is a victory against impunity, but also for our collective security. By taking this decision, the international community sent an unambiguous message, reaffirming the absolute confidence it has in this organization to carry out these investigations independently and with all due professionalism. The Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons, launched in Paris in January and now numbering 35 nations, will provide all necessary support for the implementation of this important decision.
By strengthening the capacity of the OPCW, guarantor of the prohibition of these weapons, states provided the most appropriate response to the reemergence of chemical weapons, which we have been witnessing for several years in the Middle East, Asia, and now in Europe.