Damascus said on Friday in a joint statement with Paris that it is prepared to join the International Partnership Against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons. The decision was announced on the 13th anniversary of the August 21, 2013 chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta, a suburb east of Damascus.
The partnership, launched by France in January 2018, comprises 40 countries and aims to combat the use of chemical weapons and prevent those responsible for such attacks from escaping punishment. The mechanism also focuses on strengthening accountability and pursuing those responsible for the use of chemical weapons.
France welcomed Syria’s decision to join the partnership, describing it as “a clear sign of Syria’s commitment to strengthening accountability and justice and combating impunity.” Paris characterized the move as a step toward greater cooperation in addressing cases involving the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
The announcement comes 13 years after the deadly chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta and following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government. The August 21, 2013 attack was one of the deadliest incidents involving the use of chemical weapons during the Syrian civil war and triggered widespread international condemnation.
Findings from three reports by the United Nations and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have indicated that Bashar al-Assad’s government used the nerve agent sarin and chlorine-filled barrel bombs during the Syrian civil war. The reports examined various cases involving the use of chemical weapons during the conflict.
According to assessments by U.S. intelligence agencies, the chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta killed more than 1,400 people. The attack subsequently became one of the most significant international cases involving the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian war and was investigated for years by international bodies.
Syria joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013, during Bashar al-Assad’s rule, and pledged to surrender its declared chemical weapons stockpiles for destruction under the international mechanism. However, the OPCW later reported that the Assad government had failed to declare all of its chemical weapons stockpiles and related capabilities.
The organization also reported that, in some cases, the former Syrian government had attempted to mislead international inspectors about its chemical weapons program. This complicated efforts to assess and verify Syria’s compliance with its obligations under the convention.
Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in late 2024, Syria’s new authorities said they would cooperate with the OPCW to identify and destroy remnants of the former government’s chemical weapons program. Damascus’s willingness to join the international partnership has likewise been presented within this framework, with an emphasis on accountability for the use of chemical weapons.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
