Written question asked by Chris Williamson (Independent (affiliation)) on Monday, 17 June 2019, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 20 June 2019 (named day). It was answered by Alan Duncan (Conservative) on Thursday, 20 June 2019 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Syria: Chemical Weapons

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he instructed the UK's permanent representative on the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Executive Council to vote against a proposal to allow all Fact Finding Mission (FFM) team members to brief the OPCW Executive Council on the FFM investigation into the alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma in 2018.

Answer: On 14 March 2019 the UK and a clear majority of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Executive Council members voted against holding a vote on a Russian proposal on the handling of a briefing by the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM). The vote was called without prior notice. Instructions to the UK Delegation to the OPCW issued in line with normal procedures. The FFM briefed States Parties on 5 March on the findings of the Douma report and regular briefings are held, most recently on 28 May, on the OPCW's work in Syria. We continue to have confidence in both our own and the FFM conclusions into the chemical weapons attack in Douma on 7 April 2018.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 265498
Session: 2017-19
Subjects: Chemical weapons Syria Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk