Syria vows to destroy any remaining Assad-era chemical weapons

Syria's Foreign Minister recently informed the global chemical weapons watchdog that the new government is committed to destroying any remaining chemical weapon stockpiles produced during the tenure of former President Bashar al-Assad. This move aims to eliminate historical legacy issues and ensure Syria's full compliance with international law. The commitment signals a significant shift in policy and a willingness to address past transgressions.

At the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) conference in The Hague, Assad Shibani pledged to "end this painful history, deliver justice to the victims, and ensure that respect for international law is steadfast." However, he also emphasized that Syria needs the support of the international community to accomplish this goal. International cooperation will be crucial in verifying and completing the destruction process.

The Assad government had previously denied using chemical weapons during the 14-year civil war, but activists have accused it of launching dozens of chemical weapons attacks. In 2013, rockets containing the nerve agent sarin struck several rebel-held areas in Eastern and Western Ghouta, resulting in hundreds of deaths. UN experts confirmed the use of the nerve agent sarin but were not tasked with assigning blame. The incident remains a stark reminder of the conflict's brutality.

Although Assad denied that his forces launched the rockets, he agreed to sign the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and allow the OPCW-UN Joint Mission to destroy Syria's declared chemical weapon arsenal. However, questions remain about the accuracy and completeness of Syria's declarations. The OPCW's Investigation and Identification Team has documented multiple instances of chemical weapons use during the war, and confirmed that Syrian military forces were the perpetrators in five chemical weapons use incidents in 2017 and 2018, including the April 2018 attack on Douma, Eastern Ghouta, where a Syrian Air Force helicopter allegedly dropped two cylinders filled with highly concentrated chlorine gas on two apartment buildings, killing at least 43 people. These findings underscore the gravity of the allegations and the need for thorough investigation.

Last month, OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias visited Damascus and held talks with Shibani and Syria's interim President Ahmed Shala. Shala led the rebel offensive that ousted Assad last December. At Wednesday's meeting, Arias declared that "the evolving political landscape in Syria" offers the international community a "new and historic opportunity to complete the elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons program." He said that a team of OPCW technical experts would be deployed to Damascus in the coming days and begin planning visits to suspected chemical weapons sites. This renewed engagement signals a potential breakthrough in addressing the long-standing issue.

Shibani also met with International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan in The Hague on Wednesday. The ICC stated that their talks "followed up on the Prosecutor’s visit to Damascus in January to explore partnerships for accountability for crimes committed in Syria." Syria is not a member state of the ICC, but Khan suggested that the new government could accept the court's jurisdiction first, as Ukraine has done in its war with Russia. Such a move could pave the way for investigations and prosecutions of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Syria.