How to react when an EU-applicant is suspected of using chemical weapons?

A recent report from the well-respected organisation International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) raises serious questions about the extent to which Turkey — which still holds and benefits from EU-applicant status — is guilty of the illegal use of chemical agents in warfare.

The report is based on a mission conducted in later September 2022, which saw experts from Germany and Switzerland examine claims that have long been known, but which the EU has shied away from: The Turkish use of chemical agents in combat operations — something which is strictly and explicitly prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

IPPNW’s report is entitled, “Is Turkey violating the Chemical Weapons Convention? An independent investigation into possible violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention in Northern Iraq is urgently needed,” and it makes for disturbing reading on a number of points:

1. Kurdish fighters report that they suspect what can be described as a systematic use of chemical weapons by Turkish forces in Northern Iraq. As the report outlines, it is hard to establish the extent to which this is true without further exploration. Further investigations are clearly needed.

2. The mission also reports on the possibility that Turkish soldiers have deliberately prepared chlorine gas and pumped it into caves in which Kurdish fighters were hiding. This claim should be either verified or debunked, as it, if confirmed, would be a clear war crime.

3. The report also cites an example of the Turkish Defence Minister admitting to using chemical agents in combat operations — in clear violation of international law.

Each of these points should, logically, be investigated by the EU and by the international community, and action taken where appropriate. The need for action is further underscored by the fact that the European Commission already on 4 July received a letter from a number of academics, journalists, politicians and intellectuals, raising the alert over atrocities committed during the attacks on Kurds in Northern Iraq.

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