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UN briefing says OPCW finds gaps in Syria’s 2013 chemical-weapons declaration; urges international support
Summary
A UN briefing to the Security Council reported that OPCW investigations found potential undeclared sites and materials in Syria, including 75 cylinders noted in an Aleppo-area visit (27–29 Jan. 2026), and urged sustained international support to complete verification and destruction.
Mr. Ibo, speaking on behalf of the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, briefed the United Nations Security Council on progress to implement Security Council resolution 2118 (2013) on Syria’s chemical-weapons program.
He told the Council that, since 2014, the OPCW technical secretariat “has not been able to confirm that the declaration submitted by the previous government was accurate and complete” and that the secretariat reported “serious concern” about large quantities of potentially undeclared or unverified chemical agents and chemical munitions.
The briefing said the OPCW has documented 26 declared chemical-weapons-related sites and that available information suggests “more than 100 other sites” may have been involved in previous government chemical-weapons activities. Mr. Ibo said OPCW teams plan to visit those locations as security and other considerations permit.
He summarized field work since March 2025, saying OPCW teams have visited more than 20 locations, conducted interviews with former chemical-weapons experts, collected 19 samples and more than 6,000 documents, and received 34 sealed boxes of documents from the Syrian government that will be processed for translation and analysis.
Mr. Ibo described consultations between the OPCW technical secretariat and Syrian authorities on using expedited on-site destruction in exceptional cases under decision EC 110/DEC.1, and said that, based on 2025 deployments, at least two visited locations could be declarable under the Chemical Weapons Convention. He added that further activities are planned to determine the full scope of related activities at those facilities.
The briefing focused on a 27–29 January 2026 OPCW and Syrian National Authority visit to an Aleppo-area location. Mr. Ibo said the team assessed potentially undeclared elements “including, and I quote, storage containers for chemical precursors and 75 undeclared cylinders, unquote.” The OPCW collected eight samples from large-volume containers at the site; the cylinders were not present when the team arrived. Syrian authorities reported the cylinders had been removed and reportedly destroyed at a local scrapyard; the OPCW team later observed pieces at the scrapyard that may have been part of the cylinders.
Mr. Ibo warned that additional on-site visits are on hold in some areas because of the security situation, though OPCW teams are continuing interviews and document review until conditions permit more on-site work.
He closed by saying the United Nations supports the integrity and independence of the OPCW’s work and urged Council members to provide “significant and consistent support” to complete efforts to rid Syria of chemical weapons.
The presiding officer thanked Mr. Ibo for the briefing and moved to the Council’s next agenda item.
