Syria seeks to join international partnership against chemical weapons impunity

Syria announced on Friday its application to join the International Partnership Against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons (IPCW). The announcement coincided with the anniversary of a 2013 chemical attack in a suburb of Damascus, which killed over 1,400 people, according to U.S. intelligence.

France praised the initiative, calling it "an evident demonstration of Syria's commitment to strengthening accountability and justice and combating impunity." The IPCW, launched by Paris in January 2018, includes 40 countries dedicated to fighting the use of chemical weapons, which are banned under international law.

The 2013 attack in Eastern Ghouta, attributed to the Syrian government, which denied involvement, shocked the world with images of lifeless men, women, and children. Following the attack, Syria joined the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and agreed to disclose and surrender its toxic stockpiles for destruction under pressure from Russia and the United States. However, the Assad government was accused of not declaring its full chemical weapons stock and misleading inspectors.

Since the change in government at the end of 2024, Damascus has pledged to cooperate with the OPCW to destroy chemical weapons that the former president was repeatedly accused of using during the Syrian civil war. The new authorities have allowed OPCW inspectors to establish a permanent presence in the country to document suspected chemical weapons sites and interview witnesses. In July, the OPCW, based in The Hague, restored Syria's voting rights, which had been revoked in 2021.

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like an evident demonstration of Syria's commitment to strengthening accountability and justice and combating impunity.