Syria – Chemical weapons - OPCW report on the use of chemical weapons in Ltamenah (8 April 2020)

France welcomes the publication of the report by the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team (IIT), established as a result of a decision by the Special Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in June 2018, adopted by the majority of its member states, in accordance with the procedures governing the functioning of this multilateral institution.

This initial report identifies those responsible for using chemical weapons in three attacks in the town of Ltamenah in Syria on March 24, 25 and 30, 2017. This independent and impartial report by the OPCW concludes that sarin and chlorine were used by divisions of the Syrian regime’s air force and that these chemical attacks resulted in several dozen casualties.

We reiterate our strong condemnation of any use of chemical weapons under any circumstances.

It is now up to the members of the international community to take action, within the relevant multilateral forums, and to draw the conclusions from these findings.

The International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons, established in January 2018 on France’s initiative, which currently brings together 40 states and the EU, provides an ideal coordination platform to that end.