Syria takes steps toward compliance with chemical weapons convention: UN

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - UN's high representative for disarmament affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, on Friday highlighted the new Syrian government's commitment to cooperation with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Describing the situation in Syria with the fall of Assad regime as "an historic opportunity to build a stable and peaceful future," Nakamitsu said: "As part of such a stable and peaceful future, the new reality also presents an opportunity to obtain long overdue clarifications on the full extent and scope of the Syrian chemical weapons program, to rid the country of all chemical weapons, to normalize relations with the OPCW and to ensure long term compliance with the chemical weapons convention."

"Syria has started to take its steps towards this objective," she said.

Emphasizing that the outstanding issues on "Syria's chemical weapons dossier cannot be overstated," she noted that the OPCW team "was never able to confirm that the declaration submitted was accurate and complete because of the insufficient and inaccurate information it contained" by the Assad regime.

Nakamitsu reported that use of chemical weapons by Syrian Arab Armed Forces was documented by the OPCW in Syria in several incidents.

"Thus, the OPCW technical Secretariat has reported that it is undeniable that the previous authorities in Syria did not declare the full extent of the Syrian chemical weapons program," she said.

Noting that the "work ahead will not be easy," she further said, "the commitment of the caretaker authorities in Syria to fully and transparently cooperate with the OPCW technical secretariat is commendable."

Despite the new situation in Syria "presenting an opportunity to chart a new course" in the country, she warned that it also "presents significant challenges" given the major humanitarian, security and recovery needs.

She noted the need for strong support and additional resources from the international community to accomplish the tasks needed to rid Syria of all chemical weapons.

"I urge the members of this Council to unite and show leadership in providing that support that these unprecedented efforts will require," she said.

In 2013, the former Assad regime launched missiles carrying sarin gas, a fast-acting toxic nerve agent, on Ghouta, near the capital Damascus, killing more than 1,400 people, including hundreds of children.

On Sept. 13, 2013, following the attack, Syria under the Assad regime joined the OPCW.

In April 2021, OPCW member states voted to suspend some of Syria’s membership rights after investigations confirmed the use of chemical weapons in attacks on Al-Lataminah in Hama in 2017 and Idlib in 2018.

Last month, new Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa met in Damascus with a delegation from the OPCW, led by Director-General Fernando Arias Gonzalez.

Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8, ending the regime of the Baath Party, which had been in power since 1963.