OPCW Reinstates Syria’s Voting Rights After Bashar Al Assad’s Fall

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) reinstated Syria’s voting rights on Thursday, citing a "significant change in circumstances" since the fall of Bashar al-Assad and "concrete steps" to dismantle a banned chemical stockpile.

“The global chemical weapons’ watchdog has announced it has handed voting rights back to Syria because “concrete steps” have been taken to address outstanding issues since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime”

Al Jazeera

The OPCW said the new Syrian authorities have "committed to fulfilling Syria's obligation under the (Chemical Weapons) Convention" and have taken steps to cooperate to achieve that goal, reversing a 2021 suspension.

Al Jazeera

Euronews tied the 2021 stripping of rights to findings that Syria’s air force used nerve agent sarin and chlorine gas on its own people.

The OPCW also said the decision marked "another milestone" toward the "complete and verified elimination" of remaining chemical weapons associated with the former Syrian government, with Director-General Fernando Arias describing the move as progress.

The National News reported the reinstatement as a return of Syria’s voting rights at the watchdog after a four-year suspension, with the OPCW pointing to "significant change in circumstances" since Bashar Al Assad’s fall.

OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias said the decision "marks another milestone in the OPCW's efforts to achieve the complete and verified elimination" of remaining chemical weapons associated with the former Syrian government.

Euronews reported that Syria’s foreign ministry welcomed the reinstatement, saying it "reflects the international community's confidence in the transformation that Syria has undergone" and in efforts by its institutions to fulfill commitments.

Al-Jazeera Net

The National News similarly quoted Arias describing the reinstatement as a milestone, and said the move reversed a 2021 decision when OPCW member states stripped Syria of voting rights after investigations concluded its air force had used the nerve agent sarin and chlorine gas against civilians.

DW reported the OPCW executive council adopted the decision in its Thursday session, co-sponsored by 67 states parties and adopted by consensus, and quoted the OPCW statement about Syria’s new authorities committing to fulfill obligations and taking concrete steps to cooperate with the Technical Secretariat.

The OPCW statement also said the decisions provide a "robust framework" for advancing the next phase of verification and destruction activities, according to DW’s account of Arias’s remarks.

The OPCW said it would continue monitoring Syria’s progress and take necessary decisions to ensure the elimination of remaining chemical weapons inherited from the former regime, with the watchdog urging Damascus to continue cooperating "towards closing the chemical weapons dossier inherited from the former regime."

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ANHA

In May, a Syrian official told Reuters that transitional leadership had located remnants of former President Bashar al-Assad’s clandestine chemical weapons program, including raw materials and munitions similar to those used in deadly gas attacks.

The OPCW also approved plans for destroying part of a newly declared stockpile at a site in Al Qutayfah, 37 kilometers (23 miles) north of the capital, including materials used to make a nerve agent, according to myMotherLode.

Mirage News said the Executive Council welcomed progress including "preparation of facility agreements" and "initial steps towards the destruction of identified remnants," and it approved a detailed plan for verification and preparations for destruction activities.

The Reuters account in Global Banking & Finance Review said the reinstatement followed what member states described as a "significant change in circumstances" since the fall of the Assad regime, while also noting that Syria was stripped of rights in 2021 after its forces were found to have repeatedly used poison gas during the civil war.