The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution on Friday to set up a probe to identify those responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
The 15-member bloc, in a unanimously adopted resolution, will now asked the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to submit recommendations for the establishment of the investigative mechanism to identify the perpetrators of deadly chlorine gas attacks in Syria, according to BBC News.
The proposed inquiry will be tasked with identifying individuals, entities, groups, or governments involved in the use of chemicals as weapons, including chlorine or any other toxic chemical in Syria, according to U.N. News Centre.
#UNSC Council approves probe into those responsible for using chemical weapons in #Syria https://t.co/BwhtSxQIqB @OPCW pic.twitter.com/tGGLeA9FNP
— UN News Centre (@UN_News_Centre) August 7, 2015
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, welcomed the adoption of the resolution, which was placed for voting after the U.S. and Russia agreed on the final draft.
"He is pleased that the Security Council has decided to act and take the necessary action not just to halt the continued use of toxic chemicals as weapons by any party to the conflict, but also to send a strong collective message that any such use will not be tolerated," The U.N. chief's spokesperson said.
U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said the resolution was a clear message to those involved in chemical weapons attacks in Syria, BBC News reported.
"This sends a clear and powerful message to all those involved in chemical weapons attacks in Syria. The joint investigative mechanism will identify you if you gas people. It bears repeating as well that we need to bring the same unity that we have shown today to urgently find a political solution to the Syrian crisis," Power said.
The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) monitor said that more than 240,381 people, including 71,781 civilians, were killed in the ongoing civil war in Syria, according to Al Jazeera.
