Syrian Organizations With Experience in Documenting Chemical Attacks Should Attend the Conference, Rather Than Leaving This Vitally Important Space Open for Russia and the Syrian Regime
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The Hague – The Syrian Network for Human Rights
Every year, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) holds its Conference of the State Parties (CSP) in the Hague. Human rights groups usually hold side-events on the sidelines of the main conference to which state parties are invited as part of the efforts to combat chemical weapons. These events feature groups from all around the world, except for Syria, which is patently absurd, given that Syria, in particular, is the country worst affected by chemical weapons in light of the Syrian regime’s repeated use of these weapons. This year, as in previous years, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), as a human rights group working on documenting the use of chemical weapons in Syria, applied for accreditation for the Fifth Review Conference (RC-5), which is set to be held in The Hauge on May 15-19, 2023. On this occasion, however, our application was rejected by the RC-5’s General Committee.
SNHR has worked extensively on the issue of documenting chemical weapons usage for over 10 years, releasing dozens of reports and statements, throughout that period, on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. We possess a large database on incidents involving the use of chemical weapons, including details of the deaths and injuries resulting from these attacks, as well as data on hundreds of individuals involved in the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
In January 2020, SNHR signed a Principles of Cooperation Agreement with the OPCW’s Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) and has been a reference source in all the reports released by the IIT.