UN Secretary-General and OPCW Issue Joint Report on Uses of Chemical Weapons in Syria (August 24, 2016) [1]
On August 24, 2016, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) submitted their third joint report [3] to the Security Council on chemical weapons uses in Syria. According to reports [4], the Security Council tasked [5] the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) in August 2015 with identifying “individuals, entities, groups, or governments involved in the use of chemicals as weapons, including chlorine or any other toxic chemicals.” The report examined nine cases of previously established chemical weapons uses that occurred in Syria between 2014 and 2015. The investigation found “sufficient evidence” that the Syrian air force had carried out two chlorine gas attacks on civilians. Additionally, the investigation found that ISIS carried out one sulphur-mustard gas attack in the city of Marea. A member of the JIM’s three-person Leadership Panel reported [6] plans to provide an update on the cases examined in a follow-up report to the Security Council, due in mid-September.