Disproof
This is a recurring disinformation narrative attacking the independence and integrity of the OPCW.
The OPCW is an independent inter-governmental organisation. In March 2019, the OPCW confirmed in its report that chlorine was used in the attack on Douma on 7 April 2018. Allegations of "staged" chemical attacks are a part of the ongoing campaign by Syria and Russia to smear the White Helmets as terrorists and war criminals.
On April 10 2018, Russia vetoed a US-drafted UN Security Council resolution that would have created a new inquiry to ascertain responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria. In June, the OPCW members granted it the power to assign blame for chemical attacks.
According to the OPCW's director-general, the organisation has been targeted by a disinformation campaign when the organisation was being granted new powers to assign blame for chemical attacks. 18 countries issued a joint statement, which called for an end to the unacceptable Russian defamation of the OPCW.
Regarding sanctions, EU has imposed sanctions on Syria since 9 May 2011, as a response to the repression perpetrated on the Syrian people by the Syrian regime and its supporters, including through the use of live ammunition against peaceful protesters and the regime’s involvement in the proliferation and use of chemical weapons. They are part and parcel of the EU’s wider approach to the Syria crisis, as outlined in the EU strategy on Syria.
Read previous disinformation claims alleging that the chemical attacks in Syria have been staged and filmed by the media of the Western countries; and other cases claiming that the White Helmets used chemical weapons in Syria in order to accuse the Assad government and that the White Helmets have falsified chemical attacks evidence, and that EU sanctions on Syria are illegal and that the US wants to divide Syria.
