The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Thursday reinstated Syria's voting rights at the global chemical weapons watchdog, five years after it was stripped of such rights under ousted President Bashar Assad.

In a statement on its website, the watchdog cited a "significant change in circumstances" since the fall of the Assad regime as its reason for the reinstatement.

OPCW hails progress in disclosing chemical stockpile

The OPCW executive council adopted the decision in its Thursday session, co-sponsored by 67 states parties and adopted by consensus.

"Following the fall of the Assad regime, the new Syrian authorities committed to fulfilling Syria's obligations under the Convention and have since taken concrete steps to cooperate with the Technical Secretariat to achieve this goal," the OPCW statement read.

The executive council welcomed the progress made by Damascus in addressing outstanding issues related to its chemical weapons program. This recent progress includes:

• Amending its initial declaration of chemical weapons
• Preparing facility agreements
• Facilitating verification activities
• Taking initial steps toward the destruction of identified remnants

"The decisions provide a robust framework for advancing the next phase of verification and destruction activities, under the aegis of the Executive Council, and marks another milestone in the OPCW's efforts to achieve the complete and verified elimination of all remaining chemical weapons associated with the former Syrian government," OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias said.  

Why did Syria lose its voting rights in the chemical watchdog?

Syria joined the watchdog in 2013, amid the civil war which erupted after anti-government protests took a deadly turn. The decision was taken under Western pressure over poison gas attacks against the opposition.

At the time, the Assad administration claimed chemical weapons were present at 26 locations in the country, but the watchdog said it believed there were an additional 100 sites.

In 2021, the Arab country was stripped of certain rights and privileges due to the Assad government's "failure to declare the full scope of its chemical weapons program and the confirmed use of chemical weapons on Syrian territory," the watchdog said.

Both the Assad regime and non-state actors, namely the so-called "Islamic State" militant group, are believed to have used chemical weapons, according to the watchdog.

Assad was ousted in a lightning rebel offensive led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former Islamist militia leader who is now the country's interim president. Sharaa has been striving to rebuild the country's bridges with the West since taking over.

Edited by: Zac Crellin

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