AMSTERDAM – The United States views the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a critical opportunity to eradicate Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal, long used by his regime to inflict devastating casualties during the country’s 13-year civil war.
Nicole Shampaine, the US ambassador to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), expressed Washington’s commitment to supporting efforts to dismantle Syria’s remaining chemical weapons. Speaking to Reuters on December 12, ahead of a closed-door OPCW session in The Hague, Ms. Shampaine described the current moment as an extraordinary chance for Syria’s new leadership to work with the international community to meet its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
“We want to finish the job, and it’s really an opportunity for Syria’s new leadership to work with the OPCW to get the job done once and for all,” she said.
Syria joined the OPCW in 2013 under a US-Russian agreement to destroy its chemical weapons stockpile. While the OPCW oversaw the destruction of approximately 1,300 metric tonnes of chemical weapons and precursors, subsequent investigations revealed that banned munitions, including sarin nerve agent and chlorine barrel bombs, were repeatedly used by Assad’s forces.
The recent collapse of Assad’s government, following a swift rebel offensive after years of stalemate, has created new possibilities for international efforts to locate, secure, and destroy any remaining chemical weapons. Diplomats believe Assad’s ouster will allow access to previously restricted sites, facilitating the collection of evidence and the dismantling of undeclared chemical weapons facilities.
The OPCW’s immediate priorities include identifying chemical weapons storage and production sites, taking inventory of remaining materials, and determining safe methods for their destruction. OPCW Chief Fernando Arias noted in November that unresolved issues include suspected undeclared production of chemical weapons at two facilities.
“The Syrian regime used chemical weapons, including sarin and chlorine barrel bombs, repeatedly, and never declared or verifiably destroyed them. That is inherently a proliferation concern,” Ms. Shampaine emphasized.
The OPCW’s 41-member executive council convened this week to address the chemical weapons threat in the wake of Assad’s downfall. Diplomatic sources underscored the urgency of preventing chemical munitions from falling into the hands of various armed groups still active in Syria.
While Assad and his ally Russia have consistently denied using chemical weapons during the war, multiple investigations by the OPCW, the United Nations, and other bodies have concluded otherwise. These findings remain a key driver for international efforts to ensure Syria’s compliance with the CWC and eliminate the threat of chemical weapons once and for all.