The situation in the Middle East - Security Council, 9930th meeting

International support key to fully eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons, disarmament chief tells Security Council, welcoming interim authorities’ commitment.

• Categories: Meetings & Events / Security Council
• Video Length: 01:15:04
• Production Date: 5 June 2025
• Asset Language: Arabic; English; French; Russian; Spanish; Chinese; Original
• Personal Subject: IZUMI NAKAMITSU
• Corporate Name: UNODA; UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR DISARMAMENT AFFAIRS; ORGANISATION FOR THE PROHIBITION OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS - OPCW
• Subject Topical: MIDDLE EAST SITUATION; SYRIA SITUATION; CHEMICAL WEAPONS; DISARMAMENT; PEACE AND SECURITY; MILITARY ACTIVITY
• Geographic Subject: MIDDLE EAST; SYRIA
• MAMS Id: 3405660
• Parent Id: 3405217
• Alternate Title: MTG SC 9930 MIDDLE EAST 05 JUN 2025 PM

Description

Welcoming the Syrian interim authorities’ continued engagement to address chemical-weapons issues long left unresolved by that country’s previous Administration, the United Nations’ disarmament chief told the Security Council today that international support is needed to fully realize the elimination of Syria’s chemical-weapons programme. 

“We have continued to observe a new political reality emerge in Syria,” said Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. There exists an “important opportunity”, she emphasized, to obtain “long-overdue” clarifications on the full extent of the Syrian chemical-weapons programme, rid the country of all such weapons, normalize relations between Syria and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and ensure long-term compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention. She recalled that, over the last 11 years, OPCW has reported a total of 26 outstanding issues in this regard, of which 19 remain unresolved. 

Welcoming the interim authorities’ continued engagement with OPCW to address such issues, she reported that OPCW technical experts travelled to Syria from 12 to 21 March “to start work on establishing OPCW’s permanent physical presence in Syria and start jointly planning deployments to chemical-weapons sites”. Further, a second deployment was completed from 14 to 25 April, and OPCW is currently preparing a third. These visits aim to establish an OPCW mission in Syria, conduct site visits and interview personnel with knowledge of the Syrian chemical-weapons programme. 

• Briefer: Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs 
• Statements: All Council members, with Algeria speaking on behalf of: Algeria, Guyana, Sierra Leone, Somalia 
• Statements: Syrian Arab Republic, Türkiye 

Related Sites and Documents

UN Meetings Coverage

S/2025/330

S/PV.9930