The OPCW Executive Council (EC) will decide whether to restore the Syrian Arab Republic's full rights under the Chemical Weapons Convention. This follows a decision of the Conference of the States Parties (CSP), which delegated this authority to the Council.
Syria's rights and privileges were previously suspended under CSP Decision C-25/DEC.9 (2021) due to the possession and use of chemical weapons and delays in completing its required declaration. The suspension limited Syria's participation in OPCW activities until the Director-General reports to the Conference that Syria has met its obligations.
OPCW Director-General Ambassador Fernando Arias stated: "Addressing the Syrian chemical weapons dossier relates to the core of the Convention and its implementation. It is a matter of elimination of chemical weapons and of addressing the risks of proliferation. This decision will allow us to continue advancing this dossier in a significant way, recognising progress accomplished in the coming months by Syria, by supportive States Parties and by the Secretariat."
At its next sessions, the EC will review Syria's progress and decide on reinstatement.
Background
Syria acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013 under a stringent verification regime. While Syria submitted an initial declaration of its chemical weapons (CW) programme, the former Syrian government did not declare all its CW programme and attempted - unsuccessfully - to mislead the international community about the overall scope and scale of the Syrian chemical weapons programme. Furthermore, the Technical Secretariat documented and independently confirmed chemical weapons use in Syria both by the former Syrian military forces and by non-state actors, specifically ISIS/ISIL.
The fall of the Assad government in December 2024 created an opportunity to uncover the full scope of Syria's chemical weapons programme and to eliminate it in line with the CWC. In February 2025, the OPCW Director-General visited Syria and held separate meetings with the Syrian President and Foreign Minister. They expressed Syria's recognition of all OPCW mandates, including the identification of perpetrators of chemical weapons use in Syria and reaffirmed Syria's full commitment to fulfilling its obligations under the CWC. In March 2025, the Syrian Foreign Minister visited the OPCW and addressed the Executive Council, where he acknowledged Syria's obligations under the Convention. He also informed the international community of Syria's lack of knowledge and expertise in this regard.
Since the visit by the Director-General to Damascus in February 2025, the OPCW Technical Secretariat deployed several times to Syria, involving visits to suspected locations, sampling, interviews, collection of documents related to Syria's chemical weapons programme, and coordination.
As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW, with its 193 Member States, oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention's entry into force in 1997, it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.
In 2023, the OPCW verified that all chemical weapons stockpiles declared by the 193 States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention since 1997 - totalling 72,304 metric tonnes of chemical agents - have been irreversibly destroyed under the OPCW's strict verification regime.
For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.
