OPCW Director-General calls for strengthened international efforts to end the Syrian chemical weapons dossier

H.E. Dr Mohamad Katoub, Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the OPCW, addresses Member States during a meeting organised by the Syria-led "Breath of Freedom Task Force" at OPCW Headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, on 8 April 2026.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands-9 April 2026- The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Fernando Arias, provided the opening remarks at the briefing on the "Breath of Freedom, the Syrian led International Task Force", hosted by the Permanent Representation of the Syrian Arab Republic to the OPCW. The event took place on 8 April at the OPCW Headquarters and was attended by representatives from 66 States Parties.

The Task Force is a Syrian-led coordination framework established to support efforts to identify, secure, transfer, and destroy any remaining elements of the Assad-era chemical weapons programme, under OPCW verification in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention. In addition to the Syrian Arab Republic, the Task Force comprises of the governments of Canada, France, Germany, Qatar, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In his statement at the event, Director-General Arias welcomed the launch of the Task Force, noting that it provides all States Parties with an opportunity to further contribute to efforts aimed at bringing an end to the Syrian chemical weapons dossier.

The Syria-led "Breath of Freedom Task Force" holds a briefing for OPCW Member States to explain the support it will provide to Syria to identify, secure, transfer, and destroy any remaining elements of the Assad-era chemical weapons programme, under OPCW verification and in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention. The meeting took place at OPCW Headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, on 8 April 2026.

The Director-General stated: "Since December 2024, the OPCW has entered a new and critical phase in its efforts to uncover and define the full extent of the Assad government's clandestine chemical weapons programme, and to ensure that all elements are declared and irreversibly destroyed by Syria under strict verification by the OPCW."

Despite the challenging situation in Syria and the broader regional context, significant preparatory work has been undertaken for this new phase, both in Syria and at the OPCW. Among others, the Secretariat has re-established its office in Syria and initiated a continuous and rotational presence there, work is ongoing to prepare a detailed inventory of potential sites and materials, and coordination with the Syrian authorities on locations to be visited is underway.

Director-General of the OPCW Ambassador Arias said: "Today, the Syrian authorities are cooperating on the relevant mandates of the OPCW. At the same time, the new Syrian authorities have also consistently stated that they do not possess the necessary means and resources to implement the country's obligations under the Convention. The Secretariat has been providing assistance in all relevant fields and continues to stand ready to support Syria as needed."

The Director-General added: "With passage of time, more than a year after coming to power, the Syrian authorities have gained increasing access to structures, witnesses, actors, documents and it is expected that they can start proposing to the Secretariat specific elements to declare. Under the Convention it is the responsibility of the possessor State Party to declare what it possesses or finds. Without declarations, there cannot be any legally verified destruction, which is the purpose of our meeting today."

The Director-General underlined: "Today, the representatives of a group of 7 generous States Parties, led by Syria, are holding a briefing about a remarkable project: the Syrian led International Task Force for the elimination of any remaining chemical weapons. I applaud the initiative of this group of States Parties supporting Syria in this difficult task, with a generous financial, technical, and specialised human resources approach."

He underscored: "For this effort to succeed, it will require more than the Secretariat, Syria, and a group of willing States Parties-it will require the support of the international community as a whole. This is a mission that no single actor can undertake alone. It is therefore vital for all States Parties to consider how they can support this Group in ensuring Syria's success in this challenging endeavour."

Following the inauguration of the "Breath of Freedom" Task Force in New York on 18 March 2026, the Syrian Arab Republic, together with members of the Task Force, convened today's technical briefing for OPCW Member States. The briefing aimed to provide a more technical presentation of the Task Force to the OPCW community, to strengthen Member States' understanding of its purpose and added value, to encourage broader technical and financial support for Syria's efforts, and to promote transparent and constructive engagement within the OPCW framework. The detailed discussion focused on the role of the Task Force, its operational and coordination functions, avenues for engagement with OPCW Member States not participating in the Task Force, financial contributions, and broader technical support requirements.

Participants at the Syria-led "Breath of Freedom Task Force" meeting for OPCW Member States at OPCW Headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, on 8 April 2026. The meeting was convened to explain the support the Task Force will provide to Syria to identify, secure, transfer, and destroy any remaining elements of the Assad-era chemical weapons programme, under OPCW verification and in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Background

Syria acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) 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.

After the fall of the Assad government in December 2024, the OPCW has entered a new and critical phase in its efforts 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 renewed Syria's commitment to the Convention.

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.

Since November 2025, OPCW has re-established a continuous presence in Syria to facilitate upcoming inventory, destruction and verification-related activities. The work related to the Syrian chemical weapons dossier - verification of declarations and investigation of use of toxic chemicals as weapons - is now coordinated by the OPCW Office of Special Missions.

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.

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