Bob Carr (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian government shares the assessment that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale multiple times, including the deadly nerve agent Sarin. The use of chemical weapons is abhorrent. It is a clear breach of international law and it raises the serious possibility of mass atrocity crimes.

Australia has been at the forefront of efforts to rid the world of chemical weapons for over 30 years. We established the Australia Group in 1985 to prevent the export of materials and equipment that could aid the proliferation of chemical weapons and we secured the passage of the chemical weapons convention through the UN General Assembly in 1993. We support a comprehensive UN investigation into all reports of chemical weapons use in Syria and stand ready to assist the UN's investigation.