Chemical weapons watchdog given power to point finger

BRITAIN and its Western allies overcame fierce Russian opposition yesterday to give the world’s chemical weapons watchdog new powers to place blame for chemical attacks.

Until now the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has been able to investigate the details of an attack but could not point the finger at those responsible.

However, after a diplomatic showdown at a special OPCW conference in The Hague, the UK rallied enough votes to strengthen the agency’s mandate and from now on it can attribute responsibility. The British motion passed by 82 votes to 24.

“Chemical weapons are an affront to human dignity and have no place in the 21st century,” said Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary. “The international community has quite rightly come together today to strengthen the ban on chemical weapons and prevent impunity for their use. We look forward to working with all countries who are members of the Chemical Weapons Convention to implement the decisions taken today, and we will continue to push back on any efforts to undermine the ban on these vile weapons.”

The move was strongly opposed by Russia, which allegedly used the nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, and by the Syrian regime, which is accused of gassing civilians. In both cases, the OPCW concluded illegal chemical weapons were used but was unable to allege who was responsible.

The Russian embassy in the Netherlands angrily denounced the move, saying the UK had failed to present “any hard evidence” of Russian involvement in the Skripal poisoning.

Hamish de Bretton-gordon, a chemical weapons expert, said the change at the OPCW was hugely important. “This vote will go a long way to re-establishing the 100-year taboo on the use of chemical weapons,” he said.