UN delegates welcome Syria chemical weapons milestone as search continues

Delegates at a UN disarmament debate on 20 October welcomed the verified destruction of 42 Syrian aerial bombs. The operation took place in August: it was a milestone in efforts to address Syria’s Assad-era chemical weapons programme, not a sign that the work is complete. [1] [2]

A representative of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) reported the destruction to the General Assembly’s First Committee. UN disarmament chief Izumi Nakamitsu had already told the Security Council about it on 3 September. OPCW Director-General Sabrina Dallafior later described the August mission as the first verified destruction of declared chemical weapons in Syria since 2014. [1] [3] [4]

Reuters reported that the mission involved category-three chemical weapons: unfilled munitions and equipment used to release chemical agents. The figure of 42 should therefore not be read as 42 bombs filled with chemical agents. [3]

The wider debate included disputed allegations about chemical agents in other conflicts. The UN meeting account says countries named in the allegations rejected them. On Ukraine, the OPCW has confirmed the presence of CS, a riot-control agent, in samples collected along confrontation lines, but says that finding alone does not establish its use as a method of warfare. [1] [4]

In Syria, the next steps remain substantial. Dallafior said on 6 October that the OPCW and Syria had agreed to assess as many previously unvisited priority sites as possible before the end of the year. After talks with Syrian foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani, the OPCW said on 13 October that they had agreed to strengthen cooperation on locating and destroying remnants of the Assad-era programme.