Today, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons issued its conclusion on the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian city Khan Shaykhun on April 4. 2017. The report finds unequivocal evidence that the nerve agent sarin was deployed during the attack. The further investigation will be transferred to the UN-OPCW led investigation mechanism, Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), which will establish who perpetrated this heinous attack.
The use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war underscores the importance of the removal and destruction of these weapons. The depravity and consequences of the attack also emphasizes the important mission of the OPCW. It is essential to reduce both the usage and proliferation of chemical weapons for both humanitarian and security reasons. This is why Denmark will continue to contribute to OPCW’s work and actively contribute to the fight against the use of chemical weapons.
With the leadership of Operation RECSYR in 2014 Denmark contributed to the removal and destruction of the Syrian regime’s known chemical weapons. The removal has reduced the risk of chemical weapons in the conflict as well as preventing that chemical weapons fell into the hands of terrorist organizations.