Russia delays U.N. on new panel

Envoy questions bid to assign blame in Syria chemical attacks

Paulo Pinheiro, chairman of the U.N. investigative panel on Syria, said Thursday in Geneva that the Islamic State appears to be “desperate” because it is losing ground.
Paulo Pinheiro, chairman of the U.N. investigative panel on Syria, said Thursday in Geneva that the Islamic State appears to be “desperate” because it is losing ground.

UNITED NATIONS -- Russia is holding up Security Council approval to establish a new international body to assign blame for chemical attacks in Syria's deadly conflict for the first time.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who holds the council presidency in September, told reporters Wednesday that Russia had questions about the proposal by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

He also raised the possibility that the council might need a new resolution to deal with allegations that the Islamic State extremist group has used chemical weapons including mustard gas in neighboring Iraq.

The Syrian government denies using chemical weapons but the United States and other Western nations contend Syria's government is to blame, especially for barrel bombs containing chlorine and other toxic agents dropped by helicopters, since the opposition doesn't have aircraft.

Ban sent a letter to the council last week recommending the establishment of a three-member independent panel backed by experts with the freedom to go anywhere in Syria to identify those responsible for using chlorine and other chemical weapons so perpetrators can be brought to justice. The council was supposed to respond in five days.

Churkin said Russia wants the clarifications it was given by the U.N. Secretariat to its concerns to be put in writing "so that everybody has the same kind of understanding of what is going to happen in the work" of the so-called Joint Implementation Mechanism.

He said one example was Ban's call for voluntary contributions to fund the new body and Russia's concern that contributions could influence the "impartiality" of the new body. He said "some good explanations were given about how the money is going to be spent."

Last month, the council unanimously approved a resolution giving a green light to establish an international investigative body to determine responsibility for chemical attacks that have killed and injured a growing number of civilians over the past two years -- and to go to suspect sites in government and opposition controlled areas. But council members also need to sign off on Ban's plan for the new body.

Reports also have surfaced in recent months that the Islamic State, which controls a third of Syria and Iraq, has used toxic chemicals. Churkin said Russia knows that the group has been "actively working" in this direction, including "using the services of some foreign experts to try to produce chemicals which can be used as a weapon."

He said Russia is very concerned about reports that Islamic State militants may be using toxic chemicals in both countries, and has been discussing the reports with the Iraqi government which is taking them seriously and "looking into it themselves."

In the case of Syria, "the Security Council has played an important role in dealing with this problem," Churkin said, but in the case of Iraq, Russia believes the council may need to adopt a new resolution at some point.

Meanwhile on Thursday, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, chairman of a U.N. Human Rights Council investigative panel on Syria, said the Islamic State appears "desperate" and is losing ground to Kurdish fighters who are battling the radicals "on behalf of humanity."

Pinheiro made the comments after the council issued a new report on Syria's civil war. It said the Islamic State has resorted to tactics like hit-and-run attacks and suicide car bombings after losses to Kurds backed by U.S.-led coalition air power.

"I think they are desperate because they are losing ground," Pinheiro said of Islamic State, noting its recent gains and losses. "I think at this moment they continue to win in psychological terms, in attracting the youth from Europe and those kinds of countries. But in fact, in terms of war in the territory, they are beginning to feel the pressure."

But U.S. intelligence officials said this summer that even though more than 10,000 extremist fighters have been killed, the Islamic State is fundamentally no weaker than it was when the U.S.-led bombing campaign began a year ago. The radical group controls vast territory in both Syria and Iraq.

The U.N. panel's report -- the 10th of its kind -- offered few major new insights into the 41/2-year conflict, with "no end in sight." Commission members said this edition is highlighting the immense suffering of Syrian civilians, including some 250,000 who have been killed.

"Civilians are suffering the unimaginable as the world stands witness," Pinheiro said at a news conference.

Tactics such as encircling populated areas have caused starvation, malnutrition and chronic illness among besieged residents, the report said.

It alleged abuses by several sides, including Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces, Islamic State and al-Qaida-backed Nusra Front.

The report is based on 335 interviews with victims and witnesses collected from January to July. It is to be presented to the Human Rights Council meeting on Sept. 21.

The panelists lamented that the Security Council has not authorized the appointment of an international war-crimes prosecutor. Permanent council member Russia, which has backed Assad's government, has blocked attempts to strengthen international action.

Information for this article was contributed by Jamey Keaten of The Associated Press.

A Section on 09/04/2015

Upcoming Events