UN council threatens action if chlorine used in attacks in Syria
The United Nations Security Council condemned the use of chlorine as a weapon in Syria and threatened to take action if such arms are used again in the conflict, which is now in its fourth year, but didn't lay blame for previous chlorine attacks.
The 15-member council adopted a resolution that "stresses that those individuals responsible for any use of chemicals as weapons, including chlorine or any other toxic chemical, must be held accountable." Fourteen members, including Syrian ally Russia, voted in favor of the US-drafted resolution. Venezuela abstained because it said the resolution "opens a dangerous path to the use of force." The resolution threatens repercussions, under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, if chemical weapons including chlorine are used again. Chapter 7 allows decisions to be enforced with economic sanctions or force.
