Watchdog suspends Syria's rights over usage of chemical weapons during civil war

Syria was found to have used poison gas during its civil war on multiple occasions by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Wednesday.

Due to this, the country has been stripped of its voting rights by member states of the chemical weapons watchdog, immediately revoking the country’s privileges. 46 out of the 193 member countries initiated the proposal on the OPCW’s governing body - the Conference of State Parties which includes countries like United States, France, and Britain.

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The proposal was passed by 87 votes in favour and 15 against, effectively fulfilling the necessary two-thirds majority of votes. 34 countries were absent during the voting out of the 136 countries that took part. Russia, Syria, and Iran were among the countries to vote against the move.

The 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention prohibits the use of all chemicals on the battlefield. Investigations undertaken by the United Nations and the OPCW’s Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) found that the Syrian government used sarin, a nerve agent and chlorine barrel bombs in attacks that took place between 2015-2018.

The attacks reportedly killed and injured thousands. Along with its ally Russia, Syria has denied using chemical weapons during the war.

(With inputs from agencies)