- Syria’s new government pledges to destroy remaining chemical weapons stockpiles.
- OPCW to send technical experts to Damascus for inspections.
- ICC discussions explore possible accountability for war crimes.
Syria’s new government has pledged to eliminate any remaining chemical weapons produced under former president Bashar al-Assad, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani told the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague.
Speaking at an OPCW meeting, Shibani vowed to “end this painful legacy, bring justice to victims, and ensure strong compliance with international law.” However, he emphasised that Syria would require international support to achieve these goals.
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Assad’s government had long denied using chemical weapons during the country’s 14-year civil war, though activists accused it of multiple chemical attacks. In 2013, sarin-filled rockets were fired on rebel-held areas in Eastern and Western Ghouta, killing hundreds. While UN experts confirmed the use of sarin, they were not mandated to assign blame. Assad denied responsibility but agreed to sign the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and allowed an OPCW-UN mission to dismantle Syria’s declared chemical arsenal.
Despite this, questions persisted about the completeness of Syria’s chemical weapons declaration. OPCW investigators later identified Syria’s military as responsible for five chemical attacks in 2017 and 2018, including the April 2018 chlorine gas attack in Douma, which killed at least 43 people. An earlier fact-finding mission also found that chemical weapons were used or likely used in 20 other instances.
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OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias, who visited Damascus last month for talks with Shibani and interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, said Syria’s shifting political landscape presents a “historic opportunity” to fully eliminate its chemical weapons program. A technical team will soon be deployed to Damascus to assess suspected sites.
Shibani also met with International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan in The Hague to discuss accountability for crimes committed during the war. While Syria is not an ICC member, Khan suggested the new government could voluntarily accept the court’s jurisdiction, as Ukraine has done regarding its conflict with Russia.
