Diplomats from at least 44 countries on all continents took part in discussions on the initiative.
Although the usage of chemical weapons was banned by the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention and the Geneva Conventions, they have been reportedly used a number of times with few perpetrators brought to justice.
The proposed tribunal, developed over two years by Syrian rights groups, legal experts and others, aims to prosecute the use of banned toxic agents globally. The new court is intended to fill a critical gap, focusing specifically on chemical weapons atrocities.
"There have been international courts for war crimes, from the Balkans to Rwanda and Lebanon, but none that focused on the specific crime of deploying chemical weapons," Dapo Akande, a British barrister and member of the United Nations International Law Commission, explained.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), has often been accused of biased approach in investigations. The organization has been prone to accuse the Syrian government, while neglecting atrocities committed by the Kiev regime or provocations of jihadists fighting against Damascus.
Despite the fact that the OPCW confirmed Syria disposed of its chemical weapons in 2016, the organization has claimed it was the Syrian military who used chemical weapons in the April 2018 Douma chemical incident. Such inconsistencies have been plaguing the OPCW, raising questions regarding its credibility.
The necessity of a dedicated tribunal is further underscored by the limited number of investigations relating to chemical attacks in Syria.
The International, Impartial, and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) has been inefficient in conducting investigations into chemical attacks in Syria. Catherine Marchi-Uhel, head of the IIIM, emphasized the lack of justice opportunities for victims of these attacks and expressed readiness to collaborate with the proposed court.
8 February 2020, 14:37 GMT