The situation in the Middle East - Security Council, 10117th meeting

Over 100 additional sites may be linked to Syria’s chemical-weapons programme, Senior Disarmament Affairs official tells Security Council.

• Categories: Meetings & Events / Security Council
• Video Length: 01:43:03
• Production Date: 10 March 2026
• Asset Language: Arabic; English; French; Russian; Spanish; Chinese; Original
• Personal Subject: ADEDEJI EBO
• Corporate Name: ORGANISATION FOR THE PROHIBITION OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS - OPCW; UNODA; UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR DISARMAMENT AFFAIRS
• Subject Topical: CHEMICAL WEAPONS; DISARMAMENT; MIDDLE EAST SITUATION; ACCOUNTABILITY; CIVIL WAR; CONFLICT
• Geographic Subject: MIDDLE EAST; SYRIA
• MAMS Id: 3544461
• Parent Id: 3542310
• Alternate Title: MTG SC 10117 MIDDLE EAST 0 MAR 2026 AM

Description

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.

• Briefer: Mr. Adedeji Ebo, Director and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs
• Briefer: Mr. Andrew Moore, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, The HALO Trust
• Briefer: Mr. Lennie Phillips Obe, Senior Research Fellow, Royal United Services Institute (via video-teleconference)
• Statements: All Council members, with Liberia speaking on behalf of: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Somalia
• Statements: Syrian Arab Republic, Türkiye

Related Sites and Documents

UN Meetings Coverage

S/PV.10117