Declaration Assessment Team

Mandate

When questions were raised as to whether Syria’s declaration about its chemical weapons programme to the OPCW was complete and correct, in 2014, the OPCW Director-General established a team of experts from the Technical Secretariat to engage the relevant Syrian authorities to resolve the identified gaps and inconsistencies in the Syrian declaration.

The Work of the Declaration Assessment Team

The team of experts known as the Declaration Assessment Team (DAT) has undertaken over 20 visits to Syria, held several meetings with Syrian authorities, visited former chemical weapons sites, and has taken samples.

The DAT submitted several reports to States Parties of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

In July 2016, the Director-General informed the Executive Council, through his report to the Council’s 82nd Session, that the Technical Secretariat was not able to resolve all identified gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies in Syria’s declaration and therefore could not fully verify that Syria had submitted a declaration that could be considered accurate and complete in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention and Executive Council decision ECM-33/DEC.1. The Director-General submitted his report after high-level consultations with the Syrian Arab Republic. 

The Director-General continues to reiterate the Secretariat’s commitment to assisting Syria, through the agreed Structured Dialogue (initiated in 2018), with the full implementation of its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention, Executive Council decisions, Conference of the States Parties decisions, and UN Security Council 2118 (2013), relating to the elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons programme.