Press Releases

27 September 2013 - The OPCW Executive Council today adopted a historic decision [PDF - 28 KB] on the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons. In a special session, the 41-member body agreed on an accelerated programme for achieving the complete elimination of Syria's chemical weapons by mid-2014…

20 March 2014 - The OPCW-UN Joint Mission has verified the delivery of another consignment of Priority 1 chemicals today to Latakia and their removal from the port on a cargo ship, raising the amount of Syrian chemicals that are now out of the country to nearly half of the total stockpile. The…

Water is at the core of sustainable development. This year’s observance of World Water Day focuses on the links between water and energy. Both are critical for eradicating poverty. And they interact with each other in ways that can help – or hinder – our efforts to build stable societies and lives…

I just had a very good meeting with Foreign Minister Bassil. We discussed the situation in Lebanon and the region. I congratulated him on the vote of confidence for the government. We discussed the outcome of the International Support Group meeting in Paris two weeks ago and the preparations that…

Beirut, Lebanon Friday, 21 March 2014 Good Morning. I just had a very good meeting with Prime Minister Tamam Salam. I congratulated him on the strong vote of confidence the government secured yesterday in Parliament. The way in which so many have come together in support of the Government is the…

Nowruz is a time when millions of people from Western, Central and South Asia and other regions around the world come together, as they have for over 3000 years, to celebrate the New Year and first day of spring. Inscribed in 2009 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage…

5 November 2013 - Addressing today the 34th meeting of the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü provided an update on the progress made in the OPCW-UN Joint Mission in Syria since the publication of his first report on 25…

31 October 2013 - The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations Joint Mission confirmed today that the government of the Syrian Arab Republic has completed the functional destruction of critical equipment for all of its declared chemical weapons production facilities and…

28 October 2013 - As of 27 October 2013, inspectors of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in the OPCW-UN Joint Mission in Syria completed verification activities at 21 of the 23 chemical weapons related sites declared by Syria. The two remaining sites have not been visited due…

27 October 2013 - On 23 October 2013, the Syrian Arab Republic submitted to the OPCW its formal initial declaration covering its chemical weapons programme. Syria’s submission is in line with the deadline set by the OPCW Executive Council in its decision of 27 September 2013 requiring a complete…