The Hague — Syria’s new government has committed to eliminating any remaining chemical weapons stockpiles produced under ousted president Bashar al-Assad, according to a statement by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani at a meeting of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Wednesday.
Addressing the OPCW assembly in The Hague, Shibani vowed to “put an end to this painful legacy, to bring justice to victims, and to ensure that the compliance with international law is a solid one.” However, he underscored that Syria would “need the support of the international community” to achieve these objectives.
The pledge marks a significant shift in Syria’s stance on chemical weapons, following years of denial by Assad’s government of their use during the 14-year civil war. Activists have accused the previous regime of carrying out numerous chemical attacks, causing widespread casualties and drawing international condemnation.
In 2013, rockets carrying the nerve agent sarin were fired at several rebel-held suburbs in Eastern and Western Ghouta, killing hundreds. A United Nations investigation confirmed the use of sarin but was not mandated to assign blame.
Assad denied responsibility for the attack but agreed to sign the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and allowed a joint OPCW-UN mission to destroy Syria’s declared chemical arsenal. Despite these actions, questions persisted regarding the accuracy and completeness of Syria’s declarations.
The OPCW’s Investigation and Identification Team has since documented multiple instances of chemical weapons use, identifying the Syrian military as the perpetrator in five cases between 2017 and 2018.
Among these was the April 2018 attack on Douma, where at least 43 people died after two cylinders filled with highly concentrated chlorine gas were dropped on apartment buildings in the rebel-held area.
An earlier OPCW fact-finding mission also found evidence of chemical weapons use in 20 other instances during the conflict, though it was not authorized to identify those responsible.
A New Opportunity for Accountability
The OPCW’s Director-General Fernando Arias, who visited Damascus last month for discussions with Shibani and interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, described the evolving political situation in Syria as presenting “a new and historic opportunity to complete the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons programme.”
Arias confirmed that a team of OPCW technical experts would soon be deployed to Damascus to begin planning visits to suspected chemical weapon sites.
In a related development, Shibani met with Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), in The Hague.
According to an ICC statement, their talks “followed up on the prosecutor’s January visit to Damascus, exploring partnerships towards accountability for crimes committed in Syria.”
Although Syria is not a member of the ICC, Khan indicated that the new government could potentially accept the court’s jurisdiction as a first step towards justice, similar to the approach taken by Ukraine concerning war crimes allegations against Russia.
Victims of past chemical attacks in Syria have cautiously welcomed the announcements, expressing hope for justice and accountability.
However, they remain wary, emphasizing the need for concrete actions and international oversight to ensure that the commitments made by Damascus translate into meaningful progress.
As the OPCW prepares to send its experts to Syria, the international community will closely watch the next steps in what could be a turning point in addressing the legacy of chemical weapons use in the country’s long and brutal conflict.