; and decide[d] also that the Secretariat shall provide regular reports on its investigations to the Council and to the United Nations Secretary-General for their consideration . (5) In addition, during the Fourth Special Session, the State Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention voted to provide new powers to the Director-General of the OPCW to attribute chemical weapons attacks. The decision affirms that, whenever a chemical weapons use occurs on the territory of a State Party, those who were the perpetrators, organizers, sponsors or otherwise involved should be identified, and underscores the added value of the Secretariat conducting an independent investigation of an alleged use of chemical weapons with a view to facilitating universal attribution of all chemical weapons attacks . (6) Finally, the decision of the State Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention allows the Director-General, if requested by a State Party investigating a possible chemical weapons use on its territory, [to] provide technical expertise to identify those who were perpetrators, organizers, sponsors or otherwise involved in the use of chemicals as weapons . (7) The Government of the Russian Federation attempted to impede the adoption of the identification mechanism in the Fourth Special Session, and has repeatedly worked to degrade the OPCW’s ability to identify chemical weapons users. (8) The Government of the Russian Federation has shown itself to be unwilling or incapable of compelling the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, an ally of the Russian Federation, to stop using chemical weapons against the civilian population in Syria. (9) The United States remains steadfast in its commitment to its key ally the United Kingdom, its commitment to the mutual defense of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and its commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention. (10) Thirty-four countries, including the United States, have joined the International Partnership against Impunity for the use of Chemical Weapons, which represents a