On June 11, 2024, the United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, stated that there are still concerns about the presence of chemical materials in Syria.
Nakamitsu described the concerns about the presence of “unexpected” chemical materials as “serious concerns” in samples collected between 2020 and 2023 from various declared sites in Syria.
During the recent Security Council meeting, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs confirmed that consultations between the OPCW assessment team and the Syrian National Authority resumed in October 2023, after a hiatus of more than two and a half years.
Nakamitsu indicated that the OPCW Technical Secretariat concluded that sufficient information has been gathered to consider three outstanding issues resolved concerning Syria’s declarations on its chemical weapons program. She emphasized the need for further cooperation to resolve the remaining outstanding issues.
According to Nakamitsu’s statement, the unresolved issues pertain to undeclared research, production, and weaponization of unknown quantities of chemical weapons, and the large quantities of chemical warfare agents, precursor chemicals, and chemical munitions whose fate has not yet been fully verified by the OPCW Technical Secretariat.
The UN official called on all concerned parties to maintain and enhance cooperation in the future to resolve all outstanding issues regarding the initial and subsequent declarations submitted by the Syrian government. She stressed that any use of chemical weapons is unacceptable and a clear violation of international law.
chemical_attack chemical_attack_syria opcw syria UN
