November 22, 2024
The Syrian Negotiating Commission, represented by the head of the legal office in the body, lawyer Tariq Al-Kurdi, participated today (Friday) in the work of the second international conference of Syrian civil society on chemical weapons, which was held in The Hague under the auspices of the Civil Defense (White Helmets) and a number of Syrian civil society organizations.

Al-Kurdi stressed during his intervention the importance of accountability for chemical attacks and for all the gross human rights violations committed by the Syrian regime over the past decade, and the necessity for the international community to fulfill its responsibilities towards the Syrians, whether by ensuring the security and safety of witnesses or by helping to find judicial mechanisms to hold accountable those responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

He called for condemning the Syrian regime’s strategy in dealing with chemical attacks, its continued use of toxic gases, obstructing the work of international investigation teams, misleading investigators and preventing them from reaching the targeted sites, intimidating witnesses, destroying evidence and obscuring the facts, and Russia’s continued provision of protection and obstruction of the course of justice.

At the end of the conference, the participants stressed the priority of addressing the use of chemical weapons in Syria, ensuring the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 2118 of 2013, taking collective measures in response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria, implementing the international arrest warrants issued by France against Bashar al-Assad, Maher al-Assad, and military generals Ghassan Abbas and Bassam al-Hassan, regarding the use of prohibited chemical weapons, and for countries to take effective steps collectively to ensure the international prosecution of all individuals responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and other recommendations.