📰 Italy donates €385,000 to OPCW Syria chemical weapons missions

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Italy has contributed €385,000 to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to backing its missions in Syria, reinforcing international efforts to eliminate the country’s chemical weapons legacy, the OPCW stated on Monday. The voluntary contribution was formalized on Dec. 12 during a signing ceremony in The Hague between Italy’s Permanent Representative to the OPCW, Ambassador Augusto Massari, and OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias.

Massari stated Italy has consistently supported the OPCW’s work in Syria, noting that the funding would strengthen the organization’s technical capacity on the ground and help Syria meet its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Arias welcomed the contribution, describing Italy’s backing as essential to advancing efforts to bring Syria’s chemical weapons dossier to an early conclusion. He stressed that the destruction of remaining weapons and the prevention of proliferation require collective international support beyond the resources of the OPCW Secretariat and Syria alone. as per the OPCW, the funding will assist projects aimed at identifying and eliminating remnants of the former Syrian administration’s chemical weapons program and preventing the re-emergence or spread of chemical weapons, contributing to stabilization and security in Syria and the wider region.

In fact, syria joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013 under a strict verification regime, but the former Assad administration failed to fully declare its chemical weapons program. The OPCW documented chemical weapons use in Syria by former government troops and ISIS. Additionally, following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, the OPCW expanded its engagement with Syrian authorities, deploying multiple technical missions in 2025 to investigate suspected sites and advance the complete elimination of chemical weapons.

By Jwan Shekaki