Identifying the Perpetrators of Chemical Attacks in Syria

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-227
Author(s):  
Mirko Sossai
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Chemical Weapons ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
Chemical Weapons Convention ◽  
Syrian Arab Republic ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Fact Finding

Abstract In June 2018, the Conference of States Parties of the 1993 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (Chemical Weapons Convention) decided to create an Investigation and Identification Team. This is a new mechanism within the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Technical Secretariat ‘to identify the perpetrators of the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic’. This article analyses the background and main features of this decision and draws some preliminary conclusions on the role of the Investigation and Identification Team and its potential impact for the investigation and prosecution of crimes linked to the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Thus, after describing the events surrounding various fact-finding missions in Syria under the auspices of the OPCW and the United Nations, it considers the legal basis to interpret the Chemical Weapons Convention as enabling the OPCW to put in place arrangements to identify the perpetrators of the use of chemical weapons in Syria and elsewhere.

The Attribution Decision Adopted by the opcw’s Conference of States Parties and Its Legality

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 664-681
Author(s):  
Alexander Orakhelashvili
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Chemical Weapons ◽  
Chemical Weapons Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Relationship

This contribution examines the legal merit of the Decision Addressing the Treat from Chemical Weapons, adopted by the 89th Session of the General Conference of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (‘opcw’) on 27 July 2018. While relating to matters of high political importance, this Decision still raises important issues of the constitutionality of international organizations’ use of their delegated powers. This contribution pursues the detail of this matter, by focusing, among others, on the scope of the opcw’s authority under the Chemical Weapons Convention and the relationship between the opcw and the United Nations.

The Mechanisms Behind the United Nations Secretary-General’s Mechanism – an Examination of the History and Application of the Fact-Finding Mechanism to the Alleged Chemical Attacks in Syria

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler Green
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Biological Weapons ◽  
Chemical Weapons ◽  
Chemical And Biological Weapons ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Fact Finding

Abstract A historical assessment of the use of chemical and biological weapons, Syria’s use of chemical weapons, and the abilities and authority of the United Nations, specifically the United Nations Secretary-General’s Mechanism.

scholarly journals Sampling and analysis of organophosphorus nerve agents: analytical chemistry in international chemical disarmament

2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Fischer ◽  
Marc-Michael Blum ◽  
Wesam S. Alwan ◽  
Jonathan E. Forman
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Chemical Weapons ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
Chemical Weapons Convention ◽  
International Diplomacy ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
International Event ◽  
The Many ◽  
Value Added Products

AbstractChemistry is a science that contributes to all aspects of our everyday lives and our professions. There are clear examples in law enforcement (forensics) and public health and perhaps less clear (but equally important) uses of chemicals in applications that include automobile manufacturing, electronics, packaging materials, currency printing, and even waste management (recycling and value-added products from garbage). Chemistry can also influence international diplomacy – an area that is likely to be unfamiliar to many chemistry professionals. Take for example the United Nations led investigation into the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria in August of 2013. Environmental and biomedical samples were collected and analyzed, and they undisputedly confirmed the use of the nerve agent sarin. The results were published in a report by the United Nations Secretary-General and were one of the many influences leading to the accession of The Syrian Arab Republic to the Chemical Weapons Convention (an international treaty prohibiting chemical weapons) and the declaration and dismantlement of a chemical weapons programme. Using this investigation as an example, we highlight some of the chemistry that influenced decision making in a high visibility international event.

The Chemical Weapons Convention and the Contribution of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to Sustainable Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 617-629
Author(s):  
Trevor Michael Rajah ◽  
Grant Dawson ◽  
Lydia Aylett
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Chemical Weapons ◽  
Critical Importance ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
The Past ◽  
2030 Agenda ◽  
Chemical Weapons Convention ◽  
Peace And Security

Abstract The concepts of disarmament, counter-terrorism, and sustainable development are interdependent and inextricably linked. In order to achieve the goals set out in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, states must abandon the competitive ‘arms culture’, cooperate to prevent violence by non-state actors, and divert resources towards peace and security. This article examines the past, present and future role of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in furthering sustainable development through disarmament and counter-terrorism. As the Organisation considers its future priorities and focuses on promoting the peaceful use of chemistry and preventing the re-emergence of chemical weapons, the links between peace, security, and development will continue to be of critical importance.

Provision of Remedies for Violation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: A Comparative Study of the United Nations, Inter-American and African Human Rights Systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 298-318
Author(s):  
Roman Girma Teshome
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
Regional Monitoring ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
The Past ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
To Receive

The effectiveness of human rights adjudicative procedures partly, if not most importantly, hinges upon the adequacy of the remedies they grant and the implementation of those remedies. This assertion also holds water with regard to the international and regional monitoring bodies established to receive individual complaints related to economic, social and cultural rights (hereinafter ‘ESC rights’ or ‘socio-economic rights’). Remedies can serve two major functions: they are meant, first, to rectify the pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage sustained by the particular victim, and second, to resolve systematic problems existing in the state machinery in order to ensure the non-repetition of the act. Hence, the role of remedies is not confined to correcting the past but also shaping the future by providing reforming measures a state has to undertake. The adequacy of remedies awarded by international and regional human rights bodies is also assessed based on these two benchmarks. The present article examines these issues in relation to individual complaint procedures that deal with the violation of ESC rights, with particular reference to the case laws of the three jurisdictions selected for this work, i.e. the United Nations, Inter-American and African Human Rights Systems.

The UN Secretary-General and the Security Council

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Security Council ◽  
United Nations Security Council ◽  
Secretary General ◽  
Organizational Relationships ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
International Mediation ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Relationship

The United Nations Secretary-General and the United Nations Security Council spend significant amounts of time on their relationship with each other. They rely on each other for such important activities as peacekeeping, international mediation, and the formulation and application of normative standards in defense of international peace and security—in other words, the executive aspects of the UN’s work. The edited book The UN Secretary-General and the Security Council: A Dynamic Relationship aims to fill an important lacuna in the scholarship on the UN system. Although there exists an impressive body of literature on the development and significance of the Secretariat and the Security Council as separate organs, an important gap remains in our understanding of the interactions between them. Bringing together some of the most prominent authorities on the subject, this volume is the first book-length treatment of this topic. It studies the UN from an innovative angle, creating new insights on the (autonomous) policy-making of international organizations and adding to our understanding of the dynamics of intra-organizational relationships. Within the book, the contributors examine how each Secretary-General interacted with the Security Council, touching upon such issues as the role of personality, the formal and informal infrastructure of the relationship, the selection and appointment processes, as well as the Secretary-General’s threefold role as a crisis manager, administrative manager, and manager of ideas.

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