ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—A coalition of opposition groups in Syria has called on the United Nations Security Council to refer the responsible parties in Damascus to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face charges of using chemical weapons after the UN released a report on the use of the prohibited weapons in Syria’s civil war, now in its sixth year.
Muwaffaq Nyrabiya, vice president of the Syrian Coalition, “warned that blocking this move will encourage the culture of impunity prevalent in Syria and will give a green light to perpetrators to carry out more crimes using internationally banned weapons,” reads a statement published on the group’s website on Friday.
On Wednesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon submitted a report jointly with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to the Security Council detailing their investigation into reports of the use of banned chemical weapons in Syria.
The UN-OPCW body investigated nine cases of alleged use of chemical weapons and concluded that both the government of President Bashar al-Assad and the Islamic State (ISIS) had used chemical weapons.
“It is now impossible to deny that the Syrian regime has repeatedly used industrial chlorine as a weapon against its own people,” said Ned Price, spokesperson for the US National Security Council.
Russian and American ambassadors to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin and Samantha Power, have agreed to discuss the report and what steps should be taken, reported Russia’s Tass news agency.
Churkin reportedly told Tass that the report will take some time to study as it is very detailed and warned against jumping to conclusions.
The Syrian Coalition met with representatives of Syrian civil organizations in Istanbul on Friday to discuss building international pressure to hold Damascus responsible for the war crimes.
The UN Security Council will meet to discuss the report on August 30. The report will be made public shortly after the council’s meeting.
Muwaffaq Nyrabiya, vice president of the Syrian Coalition, “warned that blocking this move will encourage the culture of impunity prevalent in Syria and will give a green light to perpetrators to carry out more crimes using internationally banned weapons,” reads a statement published on the group’s website on Friday.
On Wednesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon submitted a report jointly with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to the Security Council detailing their investigation into reports of the use of banned chemical weapons in Syria.
The UN-OPCW body investigated nine cases of alleged use of chemical weapons and concluded that both the government of President Bashar al-Assad and the Islamic State (ISIS) had used chemical weapons.
“It is now impossible to deny that the Syrian regime has repeatedly used industrial chlorine as a weapon against its own people,” said Ned Price, spokesperson for the US National Security Council.
Russian and American ambassadors to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin and Samantha Power, have agreed to discuss the report and what steps should be taken, reported Russia’s Tass news agency.
Churkin reportedly told Tass that the report will take some time to study as it is very detailed and warned against jumping to conclusions.
The Syrian Coalition met with representatives of Syrian civil organizations in Istanbul on Friday to discuss building international pressure to hold Damascus responsible for the war crimes.
The UN Security Council will meet to discuss the report on August 30. The report will be made public shortly after the council’s meeting.
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