UN officials have expressed approval of Syria’s renewed pledge to eradicate the nation’s chemical weapons program that was established under the prior administration.
Adedeji Ebo, the official responsible for the UN’s Office for Disarmament Affairs, informed the Security Council earlier this month that “the dedication of the new Syrian government to fully and transparently collaborate with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is both encouraging and praiseworthy.”
Engagement between Syria and the OPCW commenced over a decade ago following the 2013 sarin nerve gas assault by the former Syrian regime on opposition-controlled areas of Damascus, resulting in the deaths of hundreds. Syria ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention shortly thereafter.
Nonetheless, there were worries that significant quantities of chemical weapons and munitions might not have been reported by the former Assad regime, which fell in December 2024.
The most recent report from Syria’s new administration disclosed that, along with the 26 previously acknowledged chemical weapons sites in Syria, over 100 additional sites may have participated in the program.
OPCW teams have surveyed 19 locations since March, four of which were identified earlier, with intentions to inspect all other sites, subject to security conditions. The new government has also taken steps to assess the scope of the chemical weapons program by gathering over 6,000 documents, interviewing former chemical weapons experts, and reinstating a continuous OPCW presence in Syria.
Ebo urged other council members “to come together and demonstrate leadership in delivering the support” necessary to completely dismantle Syria’s chemical weapons program.
The UK has thus far contributed more than $3.8 million (£2.8 million) to OPCW operations in Syria since December 2024. “This new Syrian government has generated hope that Assad-era chemical weapons will be verifiably identified and eradicated, once and for all,” stated Caroline Quinn, the UK’s deputy political coordinator.