OPCW to identify perpetrators of chemical attacks

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has given itself new powers to assign blame for the attacks it investigates. Previously the OPCW was only allowed to conclude whether a chemical attack had taken place, and not point the finger at a specific group or country, regardless of the evidence it had collected. In the most recent meeting of states in the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) ��� the international treaty that outlaws the use or stockpiling of chemical weapons – OPCW’s executive council voted 82 to 24 that investigators should ‘identify the perpetrators of the use of chemical weapons’ by including information on their potential origin in its reports. 30 countries supported the proposal, including the UK and the US.