Press Releases

27 September 2013 - Deeply outraged by the use of chemical weapons on 21 August in a Damascus suburb, as concluded by a United Nations investigation team, the Security Council this evening endorsed the expeditious destruction of Syria's chemical weapons programme, with inspections to begin by 1…

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…

7 March 2014 - OPCW-UN Joint Mission verifies nearly 29% of total chemical stockpile has been removed The Executive Council concluded its 75th Session today with a consensus report that "positively noted" the progress that has been made with respect to eliminating the Syrian chemical weapons…

4 March 2014 - The Syrian Arab Republic has submitted to the OPCW a revised proposal that aims to complete the removal of all chemicals from Syria before the end of April 2014. The OPCW-UN Joint Mission also verified that two more consignments of chemicals have left the port of Latakia, including a…

26 February 2014 - Statement of the Special Coordinator of the Joint Mission Ms. Sigrid KaagToday, a shipment of the Syrian Arab Republic’s stockpile of sulphur mustard, commonly known as “mustard gas” has left its territory. I welcome this shipment as an important step in the elimination of the…

14 February 2014 - Following a rigorous tendering process, the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, announced today that the OPCW has awarded contracts to the following two companies with respect to the Call for Proposals for Transport, Treatment and Disposal of Hazardous and Non…

10 February 2014 - The movement of the third consignment of chemicals from Syria took place today. The Director-General, while noting this movement and the recent destruction of 93 percent of the Isopropanol, has expressed hope that these activities generate new momentum. A significant effort is…

10 February 2014 - A third shipment of chemical weapons material took place from the Syrian Arab Republic today. The material is on board a Norwegian cargo vessel accompanied by a naval escort from the People’s Republic of China, Denmark, Norway, and the Russian Federation. The United Kingdom is…

31 January 2014 - In a meeting of the OPCW Executive Council yesterday, Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü briefed the Council on efforts underway to expedite the process of removing Syrian chemicals that have been identified for destruction outside Syrian territory. “While the two shipments (of…

27 January 2014 - Special Coordinator for the OPCW-UN Joint Mission, Sigrid Kaag visited Doha on 27 January 2014. She met with the Qatari Minister for Foreign Affairs H.E. Dr. Khalid Bin Mohammed Al Attiyah. Special Coordinator Kaag also held a number of consultations to discuss the work of the OPCW…