The French diplomatic news site reports that, on January 23rd, France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs will launch the new International Partnership against Impunity for Use of Chemical Weapons. 29 nations will endorse a series of commitments aimed at strengthening their co-operation in the fight against “impunity” for those who use or develop chemical weapons. They will agree to make any information they were able to obtain on the perpetrators of chemical attacks available to the international community, international investigative organisations, and the public. A dedicated website will be launched. This partnership will be open to all nations that wish to endorse its objectives. Although chemical weapons had disappeared for some 20 years, their reappearance in Iraq, Syria, and Asia, where they have fallen into the hands of state and non-state actors, demands a resolute mobilization by the international community.
France Diplomatie says that, since 2012, international investigation mechanisms, the press and NGO have reported several hundreds of chemical attacks. Nearly 14,000 people have allegedly been exposed to toxic substances and several hundred have been killed. These repeated attacks are a cause for concern because they compromise the prohibition of the use of chemical weapons.
For more information on the Partnership see –
It plans to –
- collect, compile and facilitate the sharing of information so that the perpetrators are one day held accountable for their actions;
- publish online on a website the names of individuals and entities involved that have been sanctioned with the clear intention of naming and shaming;
- use all the existing mechanisms, provide all documentation available to identify the perpetrators of the attacks and support multilateral efforts to impose sanctions;
- create an intergovernmental cooperation forum to document the use of chemical weapons, encourage the sharing of information and support a common position;
- help countries in need to build their capacity to prosecute the perpetrators.
raytodd.blog 