France Urges UN Renewal of Chemical-Arms Investigation Tool for Syria

Paris urged the United Nations to resume the joint investigative mechanism (JIM) through which reports of chemical-weapons use in Syria have been pursued.

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) — France is calling on the United Nations to renew the joint investigative mechanism (JIM) through which reports of chemical-weapons use in Syria have been pursued, French UN Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters before a Security Council meeting Tuesday.

“We call for the renewal of JIM before its mandate expires on October 31st,” Delattre said at UN headquarters in New York. “We also call for a resolution of the [Security] Council to sanction the authors of those crimes.”

The ambassador added, “When not only the proliferation but the use of weapons of mass destruction are at stake, weakness and impunity are simply not an option.”

Delattre also decried the worsened security conditions in the Syrian city of Aleppo, saying France intends to “maximize political pressure” on the government of President Bashar Assad as well as Syria’s allies.

The JIM, which is scheduled to run out next Monday, allows for the investigation and prosecution of alleged war crimes involving chemical weapons in Syria.