March 11, 2026 06:49 pm (IST)
Follow us:
Syria: UN urges complete removal of chemical weapons
New York, May 9 (IBNS): The head of the Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations (OPCW-UN) on Thursday called for safe and unfettered access to the remaining eight per cent of Syria's chemical weapons material that needs to be removed and destroyed.
Speaking to reporters after a closed-door briefing to the UN Security Council, Special Coordinator Sigrid Kaag recalled that 92 per cent of Syria’s chemical weapons have been removed or destroyed in country so far.
The remaining eight per cent is currently inaccessible due to the security conditions, Kaag said, stressing that unfettered access is critical to ensure that the operation can be concluded quickly and on time.
“Significant milestones have been met but we do need that final push to achieve 100 per cent and to complete the work as foreseen in the entire chemical weapons elimination programme.”
The removal of the most critical material for destruction began in early January, in line with an agreement brokered by Russia and the United States, by which Syria renounced its chemical weapons material and joined 1992 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons.
As per the decisions taken by the Security Council and the OPCW Executive Council, the full arsenal of Syria’s chemical weapons should be destroyed by 30 June 2014.
Kaag noted that all that remains is the removal of 16 containers. “Then the operation can be concluded very quickly. It’s a matter of less than a working week in its totality and that allows the authorities to stay as close to the 30 June deadline as possible.”
[Sigrid Kaag (top right), Special Coordinator of the Joint Mission of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the UN to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons programme, speaks to journalists following a closed-door meeting of the Security Council on Syria. Photo: UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras]
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Latest Headlines
Fire at sea! Thai cargo vessel attacked near Strait of Hormuz amid rising Gulf tensions
Wed, Mar 11 2026
Mystery projectile hits container ship near UAE amid rising Gulf tensions, claims UK Maritime Agency
Wed, Mar 11 2026
Australia grants asylum to five Iranian women footballers after anthem protest; Albanese says ‘they are safe here’
Tue, Mar 10 2026
New Iran Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei lost several family members in war: Reports
Mon, Mar 09 2026
Years before becoming Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei was already on the US sanctions list — Here’s why
Mon, Mar 09 2026