Syria begins destroying chemical weapon materials in break with Assad era

Syria has commenced the destruction of chemical weapon materials, marking a significant shift from the Assad era, according to the country's UN envoy, Ibrahim Olabi. Olabi informed the UN Security Council that this is the inaugural destruction process since the nation's liberation from the previous regime, which ended in December 2024. This action represents a groundbreaking step for Syria in over a decade, as it is the first time the country has destroyed chemical materials on its own soil.

Olabi emphasized that Syria's collaboration with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) signifies a profound political transformation in the nation's stance towards maintaining the multilateral system. For more than a decade, Syria's chemical weapons program served as a symbol of the civil war's brutality, with investigators and human rights groups documenting the former regime's repeated use of banned agents, such as sarin and chlorine gas, in attacks that resulted in the deaths and injuries of thousands of civilians.

The UN envoy highlighted that securing chemical weapons sites and identifying munitions would contribute to preventing these dangerous materials from falling into the wrong hands. Olabi stated that each secured site and identified ammunition does not only remove a danger to Syria but also to the entire world. Furthermore, he announced that Syria, on behalf of the international community, is preparing to hold the first court hearing for the use of such weapons, aiming to ensure that there will be no impunity.

However, Russia's UN ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, criticized the OPCW for politicizing its investigation into Syria and questioned the findings linking the former regime to chemical weapons violations. Nebenzya expressed Russia's support for a swift resolution of outstanding issues surrounding Syria's initial declaration under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

He accused the OPCW's technical secretariat of prolonging the process for over a decade and suggested that the process aims to uncover concealed elements of the military chemical program in Syria, with a focus on accusing the former government of chemical weapons crimes.

Nebenzya voiced reasonable doubts about the findings attributed to the former Syrian government in the OPCW's monthly reports and stressed that any statements must be supported by clear, verifiable evidence.