Country Profile: Syria
BASIC FACTS
Syrian Arab Republic is a Member Country of the NAM Movement since 1964
The territory of modern-day Syria is one of the oldest continuously inhabited in the world, located in the Middle East region and bordered by Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north. Syria’s government, rival political groups, and a number of international actors have been entangled in armed conflict since 2011. The violence has generated over half a million deaths and over 5 million refugees according to UN estimates.
Capital: Damascus
There are currently no nuclear power plants in operation in Syria. Syria has one research reactor (SRR-1) used for isotope production, neutron activation analysis, and training by the Atomic Energy Commission of Syria (AECS).
In 2007, a suspected undeclared nuclear reactor at the Al Kibar site in the Deir ez-Zor region of Syria was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike. Both American and Israeli intelligence suggested the nuclear facility had a military purpose, denied by Syria. In 2011, the IAEA stated that tests confirmed the site had been a nuclear reactor.(An IAEA Document from June 2011 stated that the site was likely a nuclear reactor.
Syria is believed to have produced a stockpile of chemical weapons since the 1980s, although undeclared, and did not ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention until 2013. In August of that year, the Syrian government launched a chemical attack against opposition groups in Ghouta, killing an estimated 200-1000 civilians. Following the attack, a joint OPCW-United Nations mission negotiated with the Assad government to destroy its chemical weapons and immediately accede to the CWC. By July 2014, United State Secretary of State John Kerry declared that Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile was “100% destroyed,” although there have been subsequent uses of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War, as recently as 2017.
TREATIES AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
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Member of IAEA (1963)
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Geneva Protocol (1968)
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Outer Space Treaty (1968)
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Partial Test Ban Treaty (1964)
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Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) (2013)
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Treaty for the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) (1969)
AGREEMENTS (In Force):
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Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the IAEA (1989)
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Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (2020)
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Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (2020)
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Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident (2018)
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Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency (2018)
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Convention on Nuclear Safety (2017)
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Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (2022)
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Revised Supplementary Agreements Concerning the Provision of Technical Assistance by the IAEA (RSA) (1981)
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Co-operative Agreement for Arab States in Asia for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology (the 2017 ARASIA) (2020)
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Agreement between the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and the IAEA for the Application of Safeguards in connection with the NPT (with Protocol) (1992)
REGIONAL GROUPS
- Member of the Asia-Pacific Group
- Member of the G-77
- Member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
LINKS
Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations
Syrian Arab Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates
Syrian Atomic Energy Commission
Ratification of Treaties & Membership in International Organizations Related to Disarmament
https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/documents/gov2011-41.pdf)
Country List (Office of Legal Affairs): Syria (iaea.org)