United Nations Mission to Investigate Alleged Uses of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic founded by Ban Ki-moon
The United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic was a United Nations fact-finding mission to investigate possible use of chemical weapons in Syria. The mission was established by the U.N. Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on 21 March 2013 to investigate the 19 March 2013 Khan al-Assal chemical attack that was brought to the Secretary-general's attention by the Syrian Government. On 27 March 2013, the secretary-general appointed Åke Sellström to head the mission. The mission had an OPCW component headed by Scott Cairns and a WHO component headed by Maurizio Barbeschi.
On 16 September 2013, the mission published a report with focus on the Ghouta chemical attack that occurred on 21 August 2013. The next day, Åke Sellström and his team, answered questions about the report on a press conference. On 12 December 2013, the mission delivered its final report to the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.The mission investigated 7 of 16 alleged chemical attacks: