In the wake of the unverified reports about the chemical weapons incident in the Syrian city of Douma, the United Nations Security Council Committee, established pursuant to resolution 1540, is discussing the issues of non-proliferation of radiological, biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.
On April 7, some Syrian opposition media outlets reported that a chemical attack took place in the city of Douma in Eastern Ghouta. Citing sources among militants, they claimed that the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad had used chlorine in the area and killed up to 70 people. Washington and its allies blamed Damascus for the attack. The Syrian government refuted the reports, stressing that it destroyed all chemical weapons, the fact confirmed by the OPCW itself. Red Crescent found no trace of chemical weapons usage in Syria's Douma.
This alleged incident brought the issue of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to the fore of the international agenda. During the briefings, all UNSC Committee member states' representatives highlighted the importance of the 1540 UN resolution, which was adopted in 2004 and stipulated that states take upon obligations to develop and implement measures against the proliferation of radiological, biological, chemical and nuclear weapons as well as their means of delivery, in order to prevent these weapons falling in the hands of non-state actors.
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