UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- French ambassador to the United Nations Francois Delattre on Friday asked the Security Council to rebuild consensus over the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) for the use of chemical weapons in Syria after Russia vetoed the extension of its mandate earlier this week.
"The key priority now is to re-create consensus. We have the moral and political responsibility to succeed here," Delattre told reporters here in the UN headquarters. He is president of the Security Council for this month.
Neither weakness, nor division, nor short-term political games can be an option in face of the existential risk of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the documented use of chemical weapons, he said.
The joint investigative mechanism of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations is about accountability, the future of international non-proliferation regimes and deterrence, he said.
Those responsible for the use of chemical weapons must be held accountable. Impunity is not an option, he said.
"It is also about our long-term priority of consolidating non-proliferation regimes," he said. "We must not let short-term political games undermine these regimes."
"If we succeed with JIM, our common deterrence capability will be strengthened, if we fail, we will be weakened. The stakes cannot be higher," he said.
He defended the work of JIM, whose latest report was out on Thursday.
JIM has done "rigorous, professional and impartial work," he said. "It demonstrated its complete independence. Its robust methodology and professionalism were second to none and were universally recognized."
In reference to Russia's demand for a review of JIM's mandate, he said: "JIM is not a tool of the West. It is a common asset of the international community."
Russia on Tuesday vetoed a Security Council draft resolution, which would have extended the mandate of JIM for another year. Prior to the vote, Russian ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia proposed a postponement, arguing that the extension of JIM's mandate should be discussed after the publication of its report.
The Russian proposal was rejected by the council and the draft resolution was put to vote, only to be vetoed by Russia.
