New York:
Chemical
weapons were used on a relatively large scale in the Ghouta area of Damascus in
Syria, according to the report of the United Nations Missions to Investigate
Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons.
United
Nations Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon said the Mission has concluded that
chemical weapons were used on a relatively large scale in the Ghouta area of
Damascus in the context of the ongoing conflict in Syria. The attack resulted
in numerous casualties, particularly among civilians.
“It is a war crime and a grave violation of the 1925
Protocol and other rules of customary international law. I trust all can join me in condemning this
despicable crime. The international community has a responsibility to hold the
perpetrators accountable and to ensure that chemical weapons never re-emerge as
an instrument of warfare,” he said.
The accession of Syria to the Chemical Weapons Convention
and Syria’s belated acknowledgement that it possesses chemical weapons are
welcome developments that come with strict obligations, the UN chief said.
He said that this is the most significant confirmed use of
chemical weapons against civilians since Saddam Hussein used them in Halabja in
1988. The international community has
pledged to prevent any such horror from recurring, yet it has happened again.
This is a matter that truly affects international peace and
security. After two-and-a-half years of
tragedy, now is the moment for the Security Council to uphold its political and
moral responsibilities and demonstrate the political will to move forward in a
decisive manner, he said.
The
Mission’s findings are based on the evidence it obtained in the course of its
activities in the Ghouta area. The
Mission adhered to the most stringent protocols available for such an
investigation, including to ensure the chain of custody for all samples.
The
planning for the Mission was complex and highly delicate. Routes of entry into
the relevant areas and other crucial elements remained uncertain until the
final moments. The Mission was also the
victim of a sniper attack. Despite
these difficulties and dangers, the Mission was able to carry out extensive
activities on site in the limited time it had available, he said.
The team interviewed more than 50 survivors, medical
personnel and first responders. It applied a rigorous and objective selection
process designed to identify survivors who may have been exposed to chemical
agents. It assessed these individuals’ symptoms and collected biomedical
samples, including from hair, urine and blood.
The Mission also documented and sampled impact sites and
munitions, and collected 30 soil and environmental samples – far more than any
previous such United Nations investigation, he said.
The statements by survivors offer a vivid account of the
events of 21 August.
Survivors reported that following an attack with shelling,
they quickly experienced a range of symptoms, including shortness of breath,
disorientation, eye irritation, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting and general
weakness. Many eventually lost
consciousness. First responders
described seeing a large number of individuals lying on the ground, many of
them dead or unconscious.
The Mission also interviewed nine nurses and seven treating
physicians, several of whom responded immediately to the incident. They reported seeing a large number of
people lying in the streets without external signs of injury, some with
laboured breathing, most of them unconscious.
The weather conditions that morning were conducive to
maximizing the potential impact of an attack involving heavy gases, which can
stay close to the ground. Weather information showed a falling temperature
between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. The downward movement of air would have allowed
the gas to easily penetrate the basements and lower levels of buildings and
other structures where many people were seeking shelter.
He said the mission sent the samples for analysis to four
laboratories designated by the OPCW. The Mission’s factual findings are as
follows.
(a) The
environmental and biomedical samples demonstrate the widespread nature of the
attacks. Eighty-five per cent of the blood samples tested positive for sarin.
Biomedical samples were taken from 34 of the 36 patients selected by the
Mission who had signs of poisoning. Almost all tested positive for exposure to
sarin.
(b) These
results were corroborated by the clinical assessments, which documented
symptoms and signs consistent with nerve agent exposure. A number of affected
patients were diagnosed with intoxification by an organophosphorous compound,
and clearly showed symptoms associated with sarin, including loss of consciousness,
shortness of breath, blurred vision, eye inflammation, vomiting and seizures.
(c) A majority
of the environmental samples confirmed the use of sarin. The samples were taken
from impact sites and surrounding areas – locations where survivors were also
found to have been affected by sarin.
(d) The team
was also able to examine impacted and exploded surface-to-surface rockets that
are capable of carrying a chemical payload. These were carefully measured,
photographed and sampled. A majority of the rockets or rocket fragments
recovered were found to be carrying sarin.
On the basis of its analysis, the Mission concluded that “collected
clear and convincing evidence that surface-to-surface rockets containing the
nerve agent sarin were used in the Ein Tarma, Moadamiyah and Zalmalka in the
Ghouta area of Damascus.”
Due to the security situation and other limitations, the
Mission was unable to document the full extent of the use of chemical weapons
on 21 August or to verify the total number of causalities.
Q&A:
Question:
Mr. Secretary-General, Based on the munitions and the delivery systems, some of
which has signatures, have you made an assessment of who is to blame and, if
so, how do you propose to hold them accountable? Thank you.
Secretary-General: The
mission of Dr. Sellström’s team has been able to determine objectively that
sarin was used on a relatively large scale, as I have said. It was the team’s
job to determine whether and to what extent chemical weapons were used, not who
used them. It is for others to decide whether to pursue this matter further to
determine responsibility. We may all have our own thoughts on this, but I would
simply say that this was a grave crime and those responsible must be brought to
justice as soon as possible. Thank you.
Question: Mr.
Secretary-General, the Russia-U.S. plan gave President [Bashar al-] Assad one
week to declare all his sites, so will you be sending back inspectors very soon
to Syria?
Secretary-General:
Yes, as soon as we have an agreement with the Syrian Government, I have asked
Dr. Sellström and his team to return to Syria to continue their investigation
in Khan al-Assal and other areas for a final report. I have discussed this
matter with the Director-General of OPCW and the Director-General of WHO. They
have all confirmed their readiness to support this.
Question: What date did you
say?
Secretary-General: As
soon as possible.
Question: Thank you;
Secretary-General, you have spoken repeatedly of the need for accountability
and ending impunity. Now, how exactly are you proposing this is to be done for
war crimes, as you mentioned? If not the Security Council, is it the ICC
[International Criminal Court]? And are you personally ready to use tools
available to you as Secretary-General for guaranteeing that there is such
accountability?
Secretary-General:
As I have repeatedly said, that those perpetrators who haves used chemical
weapons or any other weapons of mass destruction in the future will have to be
brought to justice. This is a firm principle of the United Nations and
international law and international humanitarian law. How to do [this] and how
to promote this and when to do this will the subject of ongoing discussions in
the Security Council and I will be ready to discuss this matter. But at this
time, I do not have a clear answer at this time. Thank you, thank you very
much. 
No comments:
Post a Comment