Secretary-General's Mechanism for investigation of alleged use of chemical and biological weapons
The Secretary-General’s Mechanism to carry out prompt investigations in response to allegations brought to his attention concerning the possible use of chemical and bacteriological (biological) and toxin weapons was developed in the late 1980s. Triggered by a request from any Member State, the Secretary-General is authorized to launch an investigation including dispatching a fact-finding team to the site(s) of the alleged incident(s) and to report to all United Nation Member States. This is to ascertain in an objective and scientific manner facts of alleged violations of the 1925 Geneva Protocol, which bans the use of chemical and biological weapons, or other relevant rules of customary international law.
The roster of experts and laboratories provided by Member States and the guidelines and procedures for the conduct of investigations constitute the key elements of the Mechanism. Member States encouraged the Secretary-General in September 2006 to update the roster of experts and laboratories, as well as the technical guidelines and procedures, available to him for the timely and efficient investigation of alleged use.
The Office for Disarmament Affairs has been working with Member States to update the roster of experts and laboratories and the technical appendices of the guidelines and procedures so that they fully correspond with the rapid and substantial developments that have occurred in the biological area since the 1980s and also take into account the entry-into-force of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the establishment of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in 1997.
In accordance with the current guidelines and procedures “any interested Member State may designate to the Secretary-General relevant specialized training or courses available to qualified experts in support of their possible role on his behalf in carrying out investigations of possible use of chemical, biological and toxin agents, in order to facilitate achievement on a common basis of understanding and operation.”
