Earlier this month, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said Western countries were trying to strip the Syrian government of its rights in OPCW, as they were using the chemical weapons case against Syria as an instrument to punish what Western countries view as “undesirable authorities” in Damascus.
Lawrence Wilkerson, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff, argues that international bodies, like the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), have been occasionally pressured by some countries into “altering the facts” in regard to its investigation of the alleged chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma in 2018.
This statement follows the Courage Foundation's recent report, where it is stated that the OPCW had “sidestepped” worries about its contested inquiry into the alleged chemical attack, accusing the body of endorsing “unsubstantiated or possibly manipulated” findings.
According to the report, Wilkerson, who also used to serve as a US army colonel, admitted that such pressure is commonly placed on international organizations.
“In this case of the OPCW's investigation of the alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria in April 2018, there seems to be more weight of actual evidence on the side of the whistleblowers than the OPCW leadership. It would not be the first time that an international/United Nations organization like the OPCW was pressured by one of the Perm-Five members of the UNSC to…
