Proposals to restore an internationally recognised system to hold those using chemical weapons to account will be discussed at a conference in Paris attended by 35 countries.

Under proposals being floated by French diplomats, the powers of the world’s chemical weapons watchdog could be expanded to include attributing responsibility for the use of chemical weapons, rather than merely investigating whether they have been used.

The previous UN-recognised system collapsed amid disagreements with Russia, with the west accusing Moscow of killing off the investigatory body in an attempt to cover up repeated war crimes by the regime of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.

The proposal to extend the powers of the Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is due to be discussed on the margins of the Paris conference, which is being attended both by the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, and the UK foreign secretary, Boris Johnson. The OPCW oversees the chemical weapons convention that came into force in 1997.

An impasse developed at the UN last year between Russia and the west over chemical weapons, with Moscow repeatedly vetoing the renewal of a mandate for the UN body charged with attributing responsibility for their use.

As a result, since last November no internationally recognised body has existed empowered to identify a group or country that has used chemical weapons.

The previous body, known at the UN as the joint investigative mechanism (JIM), was condemned by Russia as loaded in favour of the west after it found that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons in Khan Sheikhun in April 2017.

Western powers in turn accused Russia of shamelessly undermining the JIM in an attempt to cover up the war crimes being committed by the Assad regime. The use of chemical weapons has become a hallmark of the brutal Syrian civil war.

Russia said it would only allow the renewal of the UN body’s mandate if its findings could be put before the UN security council for endorsement, a proposal that would have handed Russia a veto as a permanent member of the council.

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has been working behind the scenes to break the deadlock, saying the lack of an accountability mechanism risks wars “spiralling out of control”.

In an attempt to show that France would not tolerate impunity for those that used chemical weapons, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, convened a conference in January to underline its determination to pursue anyone guilty of breaking the convention.

The gathering in Paris on Friday will bring together countries that have agreed to exchange information about individuals and entities involved in the use of chemical weapons.

Before the conference, France froze the assets of seven entities based in Syria, Lebanon and China for their alleged involvement in the Syrian chemical weapons programme.

France had already frozen in January the assets of 25 entities and leaders of Syrian companies but also those of French, Lebanese or Chinese entities suspected of fuelling the programme.



The companies targeted included importers and distributors of metals, electronics and lighting systems.

The OPCW has yet to determine whether a chemical attack occurred in Douma, near Damascus, on 7 April. The attack killed approximately 40 people and led to cruise missile strikes by the US, France and Britain against Syrian regime installations.