Over 100 Additional Sites May Be Linked to Syria’s Chemical-Weapons Programme, Senior Disarmament Affairs Official Tells Security Council

Syria's past chemical-weapons programme came under further scrutiny today as the Security Council examined new findings indicating that, in addition to the 26 declared sites, more than 100 other locations may have been involved in the previous Government's chemical-weapons-related activities.

Syria has been mired in conflict since 2011, when protests during the wider Arab Spring escalated into a civil war involving the Government of Bashar al-Assad, opposition groups and various foreign actors. After more than a decade of fighting, the Assad Government collapsed in late 2024, ending his family's decades-long rule. Meanwhile, the international community continues to press the new authorities in Damascus for clarity over the country's past chemical weapons programme under the oversight of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) - the body responsible for implementing and enforcing the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Adedeji Ebo, Director and Deputy to High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, reported that the Office for Disarmament Affairs has been in regular contact with the OPCW Technical Secretariat and he held a meeting last week with Syria's UN representative.

In this month's report, the OPCW Technical Secretariat reiterates that, in addition to the 26 declared sites, "information made available to the OPCW suggests that there are more than 100 other sites that may have been involved in the previous Government's chemical-weapons-related activities". The Technical Secretariat plans to visit all these locations.

Based on the information gathered through OPCW deployments in 2025, "at least two locations visited by the OPCW could be declarable under the Chemical Weapons Convention", he said. Unfortunately, further site visits are currently on hold, given the conflict in the region. However, OPCW teams continue to conduct interviews and review documents until the security situation becomes more permissive.

From 27 to 29 January, the Technical Secretariat and the Syrian National Authority visited a location in the Aleppo area to assess potentially undeclared elements of the chemical weapons programme developed by the previous Government, including "storage containers for chemical precursors and 75 undeclared cylinders". The cylinders were no longer present at the site, but, on 29 January, the OPCW team visited a scrapyard and observed pieces that may have been part of the gas cylinders, he said, welcoming the continued cooperation by the Syrian National Authority with the Technical Secretariat.

The Council also heard civil society briefers who highlighted the remaining challenges and the way forward.

Syria Lacks Capacity to Address Assad-Era Chemical-Weapons Programme

"There is a new Government in Syria that has no institutional knowledge of the Assad-era chemical weapons programme," said Lennie Phillips, a Senior Research Fellow in the Royal United Services Institute, who served as team leader for the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission in Syria from 2015 to 2017. "From those investigations, it was clear that Assad's team had not declared all their chemical-weapons programme," he said.

With limited access to information about those weapons - and former Assad regime officials unlikely to provide accurate intelligence - it is now crucial to locate any potential chemical-weapons sites, visit and assess them. "Intact sites present their own hazards, such as mines, explosive remnants of war, booby traps and chemical contamination," he said. Many sites were damaged in the conflict, making verification challenging through the rubble, he said, emphasizing that the new Government needs the know-how to locate and destroy any remaining chemical weapons.

Andrew Moore of the HALO Trust - an international non-governmental organization best known for clearing landmines, but also for addressing all types of conventional explosives - said that the remnants of chemical weapons in Syria cannot be assessed and destroyed unless OPCW inspection teams can safely access and traverse weapons-storage sites that were previously bombed and are likely littered with deadly unexploded conventional ordnance.

However, this is "an easy and practical impediment to remove" with the right support and investment, he said. While support from international organizations will be needed at the outset, the Syrian Government is committed to developing national capacity to carry out the vital work of explosives disposal. A two-year capacity-building project could help achieve this goal, he said, adding that HALO is currently discussing with Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the newly formed National Mine Action Centre a memorandum of understanding to guide this work.

"All of this costs money, but the likely return on these investments is high," he said, citing potential outcomes, such as facilitating the destruction of remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and building the Syrian Government's capacity to address ongoing explosive hazards. "If resources match the ambition, it can be done," he said, stressing the immediate need to "get on with assessing every site to develop a clear sense of the timeframe and costs required for conventional weapons disposal at the sites".

Syria Steps Up Cooperation with OPCW

The representative of Syria underscored the major and complex challenges the country faces, including "security and operational difficulties, the secrecy that surrounded the former regime's chemical programme, the absence of institutional memory and the legacy of 14 years of war".

However, Syria has stepped up its cooperation with OPCW to address its chemical-weapons legacy. The Government has facilitated visits to over 25 suspected sites, enabled examination of more than 10,000 documents and supported interviews with witnesses linked to the former chemical programme. Syrian authorities also promptly reported on the discovery of 75 old chemical cylinders. Ongoing efforts include planning additional site visits and preparing for on-site destruction activities.

He, however, highlighted the need for the support of States parties to the Convention and the broader international community. Efforts are under way to "frame this cooperation within a comprehensive coordination mechanism that will soon be announced in New York", he added.

Calls for Contributions to OPCW Mission in Syria

The representative of the United States, Council President for March, speaking in her national capacity, said her country is working with Syria and partners in the Syria-led "destruction planning group" to support efforts to destroy such weapons and strengthen national capacity. Adding that finding, securing, declaring and verifiably destroying remnants of these weapons is "costly", she called for voluntary, monetary and in-kind contributions to OPCW's Syrian mission.

The United Kingdom and Greece highlighted their financial contribution to that end, with the former's delegate underscoring: "[The OPCW's latest report] adds to an already extensive body of evidence confirming a systematic pattern of chemical weapons use by the former Assad regime." The current progress provides a genuine opportunity to eradicate the threat posed by Assad's chemical weapons "once and for all", she added. For its part, Türkiye recently hosted a technical workshop in Ankara that brought together Syrian authorities, several countries and their experts and OPCW to identify capacity gaps and discuss destruction, its delegate said.

Panama's representative welcomed the strong engagement of Syria's new Government and said OPCW's rigorous efforts in Syria are critical to ensure chemical weapons are never used again in that country. Similarly, France's delegate emphasized that the complete and verifiable destruction of the Assad regime's remaining chemical weapons - now proven to have been used against civilians - is a crucial step forward.

Delegate Says OPCW Report on Syria Chemical Weapons Lacks Evidence

However, the speaker for the Russian Federation expressed regret that the OPCW Technical Secretariat's actions remain directed towards one objective - searching for elements of Syria's military-chemical programme "supposedly concealed by the former Government". This is being done to level accusations against the former Government at "the West's behest". Meanwhile, the contents of the latest report by the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team are "reminiscent of a B-grade action movie" as the report makes conclusions supported by neither testimony nor evidence, she noted.

Latvia's representative, describing the report's findings as "deeply disturbing", underscored that "evidence of their use has seen the light of day". "It is proof that accountability prevails and that the facts will be revealed," she said. Bahrain's speaker also welcomed Syria's cooperation with OPCW, as this would continue to "uncover the truth and address remaining issues in a technical, professional and objective manner".

Colombia's delegate pointed to the need to ensure both the preservation of evidence and the integrity of relevant sites given the current regional context marked by "volatile security conditions". On that, the representative of Pakistan emphasized the need to address foreign military occupation, air strikes and terrorism to "enable a broader environment for resolution of chemical-weapons-related issues in Syria".

Accountability Key to Syria's Political Transition

The representative of Denmark said accountability is crucial for a successful political transition in Syria, emphasizing: "This also means accountability for those responsible for the use of chemical weapons."

China's delegate recalled that the Investigation and Identification Team in Syria has been "highly controversial" since its inception. Those bodies must both observe the principle of impartiality in all their work. Calling on Syria's new Government to act resolutely against all terrorist groups, he warned: "Under no circumstances should terrorists be allowed to acquire or use chemical weapons."

The representative of Liberia, speaking also for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia, said: "History reminds us that difficult disarmament challenges are rarely resolved in a single moment. Rather, they are resolved through persistence, cooperation and a steady commitment to transparency." When those elements come together, "even the most complex files can be resolved", he emphasized.

Complete Live Blog coverage of today's meeting can be found here.