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The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons had
found evidence of repeated use of chemical weapons by Assad’s
government during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war.
Syria joined the OPCW in 2013 to ward off the threat of
airstrikes in response to a chemical attack on the outskirts of
Damascus, and Assad denied using chemical weapons. Last year,
the organization also found the Islamic State group had used
mustard gas against the town of Marea.
The delegation, which was set to meet with President Ahmed al-Sharaa
and Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, includes technical
experts who hope to make contact with their Syrian counterparts.
Since the overthrow of the Assad government, the Qatari embassy
in The Hague has acted as the intermediary between the new
leadership and the OPCW.
The fate of the country’s stockpile of toxic chemicals spurred
an emergency meeting by the OPCW days after Assad was overthrown
in a lightning rebel offensive in December. The organization
told Syria’s new rulers that they must comply with rules to
safeguard and destroy dangerous substances, such as chlorine
gas.
OPCW officials also voiced concerns that a barrage of Israeli
airstrikes that hit military sites of the former Syrian army may
have led to contamination with toxic substances or destruction
of evidence.
The OPCW’s 193 member states are required to disclose their
chemical weapons programs and dismantle them. The organization,
created in 1997 by the Chemical Weapons Convention, seeks to
eliminate all chemical weapons. In 2013, it was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize for its work.
The organization initially made some progress in cataloging
Syria’s stockpile of restricted chemicals, including sarin and
chlorine, but a deteriorating relationship with the Assad
government made further inspections impossible. Saturday’s visit
is the first time OPCW officials have been to Syria since 2022.
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Quell reported from The Hague, Netherlands.
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