OPCW monitoring situation in Syria

OPCW reaffirms commitment to clarifying gaps, discrepancies, and inconsistencies in Syrian chemical weapons declaration amidst political transition

9 December 2024

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has been monitoring closely the recent developments in Syria, with special attention to the status of its chemical weapons related sites and other locations of interest.

The Secretariat has reached out to Syria and reminded it of its continued obligations under the Convention.

The Syrian Arab Republic acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) on 14 September 2013. The Convention entered into force for the Syrian Arab Republic on 14 October 2013. Within 30 days of the entry into force, as set forth in the Convention, the Syrian Arab Republic provided the initial declaration of its chemical weapons programme. For the past 11 years, through the OPCW Declaration Assessment Team (DAT), the Secretariat has worked to clarify gaps, discrepancies, and inconsistencies in Syria’s initial declaration.

Serious concerns have remained about the completeness of Syria’s initial declaration and the fate of significant amounts of chemical weapons unaccounted for. To date, this work has continued, and the Syrian declaration of its chemical weapons programme still cannot be considered as accurate and complete.

During that same period, use of toxic chemicals as weapons has been documented and investigated by the OPCW Technical Secretariat, as well as other independent international investigative bodies.

Under the present circumstances, the OPCW Technical Secretariat is closely monitoring the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, in particular as it relates to: 

  • The security and integrity of declared chemical weapons research, development, production, storage and testing sites/locations;
  • Any movements, changes, or incidents involving materials and/or documentation from these sites/locations;
  • Measures being implemented to ensure compliance with the Convention under the present conditions.

The Secretariat has communicated with the Syrian embassy with a view to emphasising the paramount importance of ensuring the safety and security of all chemical weapons related materials and facilities at all locations on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic. The Secretariat stands ready to engage further on these matters with relevant Syrian authorities and international partners.

Background

All 193 States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention have committed never to develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, transfer or use chemical weapons. They have also declared that any use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere and regardless of the circumstances, is totally unacceptable and would violate the Convention and the well-established legal norms, and standards of the international community.

Every State Party to the Convention, including Syria, is subject to the following obligations: 

  • Never under any circumstances to develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, retain, transfer or use chemical weapons (Article I of the Convention);  
  • Submit timely, accurate, complete declarations related to chemical weapons and chemical weapons facilities on its territory (Article III of the Convention);  
  • Cooperate with the OPCW in the exercise of all its functions and provide assistance to the Technical Secretariat (Article VII of the Convention).  

To ensure Syria’s compliance with its obligations under the Convention, there are currently three different OPCW missions with an active mandate to work on chemical weapons verifications issues: the Declaration Assessment Team (DAT), the OPCW Fact-Finding mission (FFM), and the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team (IIT). All three missions have different mandates. Their findings are based on scientific methods and evidence, and are provided to Member States and other entities (e.g.  the United Nations Security Council).  

As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW, with its 193 Member States, oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention’s entry into force in 1997, it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.

In 2023, the OPCW verified that all chemical weapons stockpiles declared by the 193 States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention since 1997 — totalling 72,304 metric tonnes of chemical agents — have been irreversibly destroyed under the OPCW’s strict verification regime.

For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.

More information

Note Verbale NV/ODG-636/24 dated 9 December 2024 from the Technical Secretariat addressed to the Permanent Representation of the Syrian Arab Republic to the OPCW

Syria and the OPCW