December 2024

The Chemical Weapons Convention Coalition (CWCC) is an independent, international civil society network working to support the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and to supplement the efforts of the member states of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to achieve universal support for and compliance with the treaty and ensure a world free from chemical weapons.

OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias at the Meeting of the Executive Council on the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic in relation to the Syrian chemical weapons program (EC-M-66) on 12 December 2024.  Source: OPCW Flickr.  Syria and the OPCW: Political Transition and Chemical Weapons  OPCW monitoring situation in Syria, 9 December 2024, OPCW News  Note Verbale of the OPCW Technical Secretariat to the Permanent Representation of the Syrian Arab Republic to the OPCW, 9 December 2024, OPCW  OPCW urges Syria to fulfil Chemical Weapons Convention obligations, 12 December 2024, OPCW News  Statement by the Director-General to the Sixty-Sixth Meeting of the Executive Council, 12 December 2024, OPCW  Report by the Director-General: Progress in the Elimination of the Syrian Chemical Weapons Programme, 24 December 2024, OPCW  Report by the Director-General: Progress in the Elimination of the Syrian Chemical Weapons Programme, 25 December 2024, OPCW On 12 December 2024, OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias convened a special Meeting of the Executive Council (EC-M-66) for the Director-General to convey information to the Executive Council on the situation in Syria and the status of the Syrian chemical weapons program. For all documents related to this meeting, see here.  OPCW-Hague Award Winners Announced  This year’s award went to Algeria’s National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology and the Indian Chemical Council. Read more here. Group photo of the OPCW-Hague Award ceremony during the 29th Conference of States Parties in The Hague on 25 November 2024.  Source: OPCW Flickr.  On the Calendar  January 2025 (date TBA): CWC Coalition webinar on the future of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles.

News Roundup  News UN marks Day of Remembrance for chemical weapons victims with renewed call for global action, 30 November 2024, UN News  Israel carries out dozens of air strikes across Syria, reports say, 9 December 2024, BBC  Israeli Strikes on Syria Target Chemical Weapons, Rocket and Missile Arsenals, 9 December 2024, Wall Street Journal  Concern over Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile triggers emergency meeting of global monitor, 12 December 2024, Associated Press  Growing concerns about fate of Syria’s secret chemical weapons stashes, 13 December 2024, Science  ‘Their bodies had turned to black’: Syrian chlorine victims can finally speak out, 14 December 2024, The Guardian  Ukraine kills Russian chemical weapons chief Igor Kirillov in Moscow, 17 December 2024, Reuters  Ukraine war: what chemical weapons is Russia accused of using and why?, 18 December 2024, The Conversation  ‘Death was everywhere’: Syria’s chemical weapon victims share their trauma, 18 December 2024, Al Jazeera  Russia detains suspect in assassination of general sanctioned for chemical weapons use, 18 December 2024, NBC News  Cyprus can help rid Syria of chemical weapons and search for its missing, Cypriot top diplomat says, 21 December 2024, ABC News  Syrians can finally tell their stories about Assad’s chemical attacks, 22 December 2024, NPR News  If Syrian Chemical Weapons Were Found, the U.S. Army Could Safely Destroy Them, 25 December 2024, New York Times  ‘Nobody was spared’: Damascus suburbs still haunted by Assad regime’s chemical attacks, 26 December 2024, France24 Reports Report by the Director-General: Progress in the Elimination of the Syrian Chemical Weapons Programme, 24 December 2024, OPCW  Report by the Director-General: Progress in the Elimination of the Syrian Chemical Weapons Programme, 25 December 2024, OPCW  Concrete evidence: GC shows how environmental factors affect chemical weapons detection, 30 December 2024, Wiley Analytical Science Magazine Statements Statement by the Director-General to the Sixty-Sixth Meeting of the Executive Council, 12 December 2024, OPCW  Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Warfare: Secretary-General’s Message, 30 November 2024, United Nations Analysis The Real Impact of Chemical Warfare, 21 November 2024, American University School of International Service  Syria Still Has Chemical Weapons, 19 December 2024, Foreign Affairs  Reviving Chemical Weapons Accountability in a Multipolar World, 21 November 2024, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Newsletter Archive An archive of our past newsletters can be found on the CWC Coalition website at https://www.cwccoalition.org/news-roundup/.   If you have news that you would like to be included in an upcoming newsletter, please send us an email with your contact details and description of the event/project/news.

The Chemical Weapons Convention Coalition is an independent, international civil society network committed to supporting the aims and universalisation of the CWC. The Coalition’s work is made possible by the support of the Weapons Threat Reduction Program, Global Affairs Canada, the German Federal Foreign Office, and ACA members. This newsletter is produced by Mina Rozei, Project Coordinator.