STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN: Tenth Anniversary of the Ghouta, Syria Chemical Weapons Attack

August 21, 2023

Tenth Anniversary of the Ghouta, Syria Chemical Weapons Attack

Ten years ago the Assad regime launched rockets carrying the deadly nerve agent sarin into the Ghouta district of Damascus, killing more than 1,400 people.  

The United States remembers and honors the victims and survivors of the Ghouta attack and of the other chemical attacks launched by the Assad regime.  Ten years on, we continue to seek justice and accountability for those responsible for these horrific acts.  

Despite its international obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and UN Security Council Resolution 2118, Syria has yet to fully declare and verifiably eliminate its chemical weapons program.  Syria refuses to take any responsibility for its vile campaign of chemical weapons use, as is evident from Syria’s nine subsequent chemical weapons attacks confirmed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Investigation and Identification Team and the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism.  

We will continue to support the calls by the Syrian people and civil society for justice and accountability for atrocities committed in Syria, and to stand with Syrians in working for a future in which their human rights are respected.