DISINFO: EU extension of the illegal coercive measures against Syria is unjust
SUMMARY
The unjust decision of the European Union to extend the illegal coercive measures targeting the Center for Scientific Studies and Research and some of its employees comes in the context of the systematic targeting of Syria, and it lacks the slightest degree of objectivity and credibility, especially after the lies launched by countries hostile to Syria, and their continuous attempts to politicise the work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the belligerent intentions of the European Union while attacking the independence and integrity of the OPCW in regards to the Syrian war.
Th EU sanctions referred to are the sanctions against the proliferation and use of chemical weapons that have been extended for one year by the Council of the EU on 11 October 2021. EU sanctions comply with all obligations under international law, in particular, international refugee law, international humanitarian law, and international human rights law. The EU sanctions in place in Syria have been imposed since 9 May 2011 to respond to the repression perpetrated on the Syrian people by the Syrian regime and its supporters. EU sanctions against the regime were extended in May 2021 for one year, and they are part of the EU’s wider approach to the Syria crisis, as outlined in the EU strategy on Syria.
On the other hand, the OPCW is an independent inter-governmental organisation, of which Russia is a member. An investigation mechanism set up by the OPCW has twice blamed Syrian government forces for chemical attacks. On 12 April 2021, it said it found “reasonable grounds to believe” that a Syrian air force military helicopter dropped a chlorine cylinder on a Syrian town in 2018.
Read more disinformation cases alleging that sanctions on Syria are illegal and aim to destroy the country; or that the OPCW has become a tool for the US and its Western allies; or that it is controlled by American; or that OPCW produces predefined reports; or that Syria is being accused of something they no longer possess the tools for.