THE HAGUE, Netherlands – 12 December 2024 – Upon request of the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Fernando Arias, and in consultation with the Chairperson of the Executive Council, Ambassador Andrés Terán Parral of Ecuador, the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) held an extraordinary meeting today to discuss the ongoing developments in Syria.
In his opening remarks, Director-General Arias reminded the Council that, up until today, Syria had not declared its full chemical weapons programme and that chemical weapons had been used in Syria on multiple occasions.
“In the past days, the Secretariat has been closely monitoring the situation in Syria with special attention to the status of its chemical weapons-related sites,” said Director-General Arias. “The political and security situation in the country remains volatile.” He added: “The ultimate goal is to achieve the complete elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons programme, and to take part in the process of the international accountability of the former Syrian government and any other identified perpetrators.”
The process began 11 years ago when Syria first acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in September 2013.
The OPCW Technical Secretariat, through its Declaration Assessment Team (DAT), has been working over the years to address gaps, discrepancies, and inconsistencies in Syria’s initial declaration submitted to the OPCW in 2013. Despite these efforts, significant concerns persist regarding the accuracy and completeness of the declaration, as well as the fate of substantial quantities of unaccounted-for chemical weapons. These unresolved issues remain a major obstacle to verifying the full dismantling of Syria’s chemical weapons programme.
During the same period, the OPCW Technical Secretariat and other independent international investigative bodies have documented and investigated the use of toxic chemicals as weapons in Syria. The OPCW’s findings play a crucial role in supporting accountability for violations of international law and committed atrocities involving the use of toxic chemicals as a weapon.
Director-General Arias informed the Council that, once communication with the new interlocutors in Syria would be established and as soon as the security situation allows it, the next step would be for the OPCW to send a team of experts from the Secretariat to Syria. The Director-General said this would allow the OPCW to collect all relevant information on the current situation regarding chemical weapons-related sites and to assess the work necessary as we move forward.
He added that, while the challenge the Organisation faced today was similar in nature to the one in 2013, when Syria acceded to the Convention, “the main difference is that, today, we are much better prepared to face such a challenge.”
As a State Party to the Convention, Syria has committed to never posses or use chemical weapons, to submit complete declarations related to its chemical weapons programme and to cooperate with the OPCW. Under international law, these legal obligations remain valid regardless of any change in government. The Director-General stated: “Today, after 11 years at the OPCW, this Member State now needs to come into full compliance and, at last, fulfil all its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention, relinquishing what is left of its chemical weapons programme”
The OPCW Technical Secretariat remains committed to engaging with the relevant Syrian authorities and international partners to help Syria complete the elimination of its chemical weapons programme.
Achieving full compliance will safeguard the Syrian population, participate in the process of bringing justice to the victims by ensuring that those identified for committing these attacks are held accountable. It will also contribute to regional stability and the global mission of eradicating chemical weapons. This progress represents a crucial step towards enduring peace and a safer, chemical weapons-free world.
The Council will remain seized with the matter.
Background
The Syrian Arab Republic became a State Party to the CWC — and a Member State of the OPCW — in October 2013. As a result of a joint OPCW-UN mission (October 2013 – September 2014) in cooperation with the Syrian government, all of the chemical weapons declared by Syria were removed and verifiably destroyed outside of its territory. However, questions about the completeness of Syria’s declaration remain.
As every other State Party to the Convention, 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) on a regular basis.
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.
On 7 July 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.