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Wednesday 19 April 2017

The broken chemical weapons deal




The chemical attack by Assad on Khan Sheikhun was the deadliest since 2013. But it was only the most recent of many attacks breaking the 2013 chemical weapons deal.

Here in the UK, politicians on all sides must now face the cost of Parliament’s failure to hold Assad to account in 2013.

The UK Government needs to face the consequences not just of failure in 2013, but of failure throughout six full years to protect civilians in Syria: failure to ground Assad’s air force, failure to airdrop aid to besieged civilians, failure to protect civilians as they fled Syria, failure to take in some of the youngest and most vulnerable of Assad’s victims.

If Russia continues to shield Assad at the UN, other permanent members of the Security Council including the UK must now join the US in taking measures to end impunity.

The UK must show leadership to ensure that the international response centres on civilian protection. The 2013 chemical weapons deal failed to protect civilians because it only focused on one class of weapon, not on ending violence.

In December 2013 after the chemical weapons deal, Assad escalated the regime’s barrel bombing of civilians. Syrians worry that Assad will now once more escalate against besieged civilians with artillery and conventional air attacks.

All Assad regime attacks on civilians need to be stopped.

The Khan Sheikhun attack came in the same week that the EU hosted its Brussels conference on Syria. Assad and his allies have shown their contempt for EU efforts.

Despite the scale of crimes committed by the Assad regime, by Russia, and by Iran, the EU has not imposed a single sanction against Russia for its actions in Syria, and the EU is selling aircraft to Iran which uses civilian airliners to resupply the regime with fighters and arms.

Diplomacy without pressure has failed. The UK and its allies now need to increase both economic and military pressure against Assad and his allies.


UK policy on Syria needs a fresh start. Read our proposals in more detail here.