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WORLD-OPCW-WEAPONRY-SYRIA-BRITAIN-INTERVIEW-EXCLUSIVE
Protect chemical weapons ban, watchdog’s chief pleads
THE HAGUE, July 17, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The outgoing head of the world’s
chemical arms watchdog has urged nations not to sacrifice a century of hard-
fought efforts to banish toxic weapons for the sake of short-term political
disputes.
Speaking exclusively to AFP just days before he steps down and with a
team of inspectors on the ground in Britain to probe a suspected nerve agent
attack, Ahmet Uzumcu called on members of the Organisation for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to overcome bitter divisions.
The Chemical Weapons Convention banning the use, production and
stockpiling of arms such as mustard gas, which crept across the battlefields
of World War I or enveloped the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988, came into
force in 1997.
Today “in order to reach this stage to develop such a regime, the
international community spent more than 100 years,” stressed Uzumcu.
“It will be really unfortunate if we make it a victim to short-sighted
political interests.”
– Work in a time of war –
When the seasoned Turkish diplomat took over as the OPCW’s director
general in July 2010 the body was little known, ploughing away at its arduous
task of eliminating the world’s stockpile of chemical weapons.
In total 193 countries have signed up to the convention, and 96 percent
of the world’s declared stocks have been eliminated. The remaining 4 percent
is in the United States and due to be eradicated by 2023.
Yet the ongoing civil war in Syria has seen repeated allegations of
chemical weapons attacks on civilians — 85 reports have been checked by the
OPCW’s fact-finding team and 14 have been proven.
Used to being behind the scenes, the OPCW inspectors were thrust into a
high-profile war, in full glare of an anxious international community.
“We had to restructure, to re-prioritise our work… we had to prepare
and train our staff to go to Syria to conflict areas,” Uzumcu said.
Even after “the most traumatic incident” when one team came under attack
and was ambushed in May 2014, there was no lack of volunteers including the
team which went into the Syrian town of Douma in April.
In an interim report, experts have ruled out the use of sarin gas in the
deaths of about 40 civilians there, but suspect chlorine may have been
unleashed.
– Noble cause –
The teams are driven by “the sense of purpose. They think that they are
contributing in fact to a noble cause, getting rid of chemical weapons,
thereby in fact preventing their use and harming people.”
But the body, which in 2013 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its
work, has become riven with disputes between Western nations, and Syria’s
main ally Russia and its supporters.
“I hope that this division amongst state parties will be over very soon
and they will be united once again as used to be the case,” Uzumcu said.
He warned chemical weapons are also evolving — even the so-called
Islamic State jihadists were found to have used mustard gas.
“The proliferation risks are high. We need to be aware of this,” Uzumcu
said, referring particularly to jihadists returning to their own countries.
Following a landmark vote last month, the OPCW now has the added
responsibility of deciding who was behind any attack in Syria.
Uzumcu confirmed inspectors would also review previous attacks, such as
in Latamneh in northwestern Syria in March in which both sarin and chlorine
were used, to determine who was behind them.
– Taboo crime –
Attribution is the first step towards bringing perpetrators to justice,
he insisted.
“Accountability is key,” said Uzumcu, otherwise “we cannot ensure
deterrence. We cannot prevent further uses. A culture of impunity would be
extremely dangerous for the future.”
A team of OPCW inspectors arrived Sunday in Britain for the second time
this year, to take samples including tissue from Dawn Sturgess who died on
July 8.
She, and her partner Charlie Rowley who is recovering in hospital, are
believed to have been exposed to the same poison used in March in Salisbury
on a former Russian spy and his daughter.
Concerned about the events in Britain, Uzumcu revealed he has set up a
small taskforce to learn more about this nerve agent, named by London as
Novichok, but so rare it is not even listed in OPCW files.
Despite leaving a busy in-tray for incoming director general, Spanish
diplomat Ferdinand Arias, Uzumcu remains hopeful as he ends his mandate,
pointing out no-one has yet claimed responsibility for any recent attack.
“Everyone, I believe, is fully aware that the use of chemical weapons is
a taboo. It’s a crime, and they perfectly understand that those who commit
such crimes may be held accountable,” he said.
BSS/AFP/RY/1709 hrs