UN chemical nukes agency held productive meetings to reset button in Damascus

By Anjali Sharma

UNITED NATIONS – Head of the UN Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons agency Fernando Arias and his team on Saturday held a high level delegation to Damascus in a significant move to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons programme.

According to a press release issued on Saturday by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, stated the Director-General Fernando Arias and his team had met interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and caretaker Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, at their invitation drawn a line under “11 years of obstruction” by the Assad regime, which was driven from power in early December.

The meetings were described as long, productive, and open, with an in-depth exchange of information. This dialogue aims to break the long stalemate over use of the banned weapons during Syria’s brutal civil conflict, and achieve tangible results, the release stated.

It marks the first step in re-establishing a direct working relationship between the OPCW Technical Secretariat and Syria.

The discussions focused on Syria’s obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW’s role and mandate, and the support the Technical Secretariat can provide to eliminate the remnants of Syria’s chemical weapons programme.

Mr. Arias said that “This visit marks a reset. After eleven years of obstruction by the previous authorities, the Syrian caretaker authorities have a chance to turn the page and meet Syria’s obligations under the Convention” .

“My presence in Damascus reflects the OPCW’s commitment to rebuilding a relationship based on mutual trust and transparency. For over a decade, Syria’s chemical weapons dossier was at a deadlock. Today, we must seize this opportunity together and break that impasse for the good of the Syrian people and the international community.”

Syria’s declaration of its chemical weapons programme has been incomplete, with significant quantities of outlawed weaponry unaccounted for since 2013.

Mr. Arias emphasized the OPCW’s readiness to work with Syria’s transitional authorities to address these open questions and implement its responsibilities to regain good standing within the organization.

He presented the Secretariat’s nine-point Action Plan for Syria to the interim President and caretaker Foreign Minister.

Mr.Arias reiterated the OPCW’s commitment to support the country and bring it back into compliance as a member state.

The caretaker authorities will safeguard the Syrian people, hold accountable any identified perpetrators of chemical weapons use, and boost the country’s reputation as a reliable and trusted member of the international community.

“This visit lays the ground for working together towards closing the Syrian chemical weapons file for good and fostering long-term compliance, regional stability, and contributing to peace and international security,” said Mr. Arias.

Syria became a State Party to the CWC and a Member State of the OPCW in October 2013.

A joint OPCW-UN mission in cooperation with the former Syrian authorities led to the removal and verifiable destruction of all declared chemical weapons.

The questions about the accuracy and completeness of Syria’s initial declaration have persisted.

The OPCW Action Plan, based on the Technical Secretariat’s extensive experience, outlines the next steps: drawing an inventory of sites, equipment, munitions, chemicals, documents, people, and facilities; declaring all elements of the Syrian chemical weapons programme; and to ensure its verifiable elimination.

Long-term compliance with the CWC will be established through reinforced cooperation.

The implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, with its 193 Member States aims to permanently eliminate chemical weapons.

It has been the most successful disarmament treaty on record, eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction since the Convention’s entry into force in 1997.

In 2023, the OPCW verified that all chemical weapons stockpiles declared by the 193 States Parties to the CWC since 1997 have been irreversibly destroyed under the OPCW’s strict verification regime.

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