Image source: OPCW
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has submitted its 133rd monthly report to the United Nations Security Council, detailing the ongoing implementation of resolutions concerning the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons program. Covering the period from September 24 to October 23, 2024, the report complies with several OPCW Executive Council and Security Council resolutions focused on monitoring Syria’s compliance with international mandates to dismantle its chemical weapons stockpile.
The report highlights the OPCW mission’s planned activities in Syria, which will implement key Executive Council decisions (EC-M-33/DEC.1, EC-81/DEC.4, and EC-83/DEC.5). These decisions include verifying Syria’s declaration of its chemical arsenal’s destruction and inspecting key sites, including the Barzeh and Jamraya facilities of Syria’s Center for Scientific Studies and Research.
The report also underscores the need to adhere to additional resolutions from the OPCW Conference of States Parties (C-SS-4/DEC.3, C-25/DEC.9, and C-28/DEC.12) and the Security Council’s resolution EC-94/DEC.2. According to these mandates, the OPCW’s Technical Secretariat is required to provide periodic progress reports on Syria’s compliance, following a 2013 decision (EC-M-33/DEC.1) by the Executive Council and UN Security Council Resolution 2118, which established the OPCW’s reporting obligations to the Security Council through the UN Secretary-General.
During its 34th meeting on November 15, 2013, the OPCW adopted a detailed resolution outlining requirements for dismantling Syria’s chemical arsenal, tasking the Technical Secretariat with regular updates on implementation. In February 2015, at its 48th meeting, the OPCW expanded this reporting mandate to incorporate findings from the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Syria into Security Council briefings.
Additional resolutions were adopted in subsequent years to ensure continued scrutiny. At its 81st session in March 2016, the OPCW Executive Council emphasized the need for additional reports from the OPCW Director-General on Syria’s declaration and related commitments. A resolution adopted on November 11, 2016, further reinforced the commitment to ongoing Security Council reporting through periodic, comprehensive updates.
Most notably, on July 9, 2020, the OPCW’s 94th session passed a resolution titled “Countering the Acquisition and Use of Chemical Weapons by the Syrian Arab Republic,” mandating regular reports to the United Nations and the General Assembly on Syria’s compliance status. At the 25th session of the Conference of the States Parties, on April 21, 2021, another resolution required the Secretariat to continue follow-up reporting on Syria’s progress with Resolution EC-94/DEC.2 obligations.
This latest monthly report affirms the OPCW’s ongoing commitment to monitoring, documenting, and enforcing international standards on chemical weapons non-proliferation, reiterating its role in upholding global security and protecting international peace.
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