United Nations calls on the United States to lift sanctions on Syria

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, the Belarusian Alena Douhan, has requested the United States to end the sanctions imposed on Syria under the so-called Caesar Law. 

This law, which began in June, although it had been on the table for over four years, seeks to attack Syria's Al-Asad regime economically and minimise its ability to move. It also extends to all players who can provide the Syrian leader with aid of any kind, with an eye to Russia and Iran.

With this law, which the UN is now requesting be lifted, the United States is imposing strict control over the aid intended for Syria, which in many cases was intended to rebuild a country ravaged by a decade of conflict, with the risks that this entails in this situation of world pandemic, as Douhan pointed out.

She stressed the difficulties this law poses to the reconstruction of the country's infrastructures by external actors. The Caesar Law, for example, maintains Syria's Central Bank as a suspect in money laundering, and the United States is therefore blocking the entire governmental structure of Bashar al-Asad and making it difficult to channel investment into rebuilding critical sectors such as hospitals.

Alena Douhan points out that these new sanctions by the United States go against the right of the Syrian people "to housing and health", as well as preventing "adequate development". She also points out that "they could go against international law because of their extraterritorial scope".

Furthermore, the situation generated by COVID 19 is deepening the vulnerability of the Syrian people, according to Alena, "so there is an even greater risk of human rights violations.

Damascus has been making progress in regaining territorial control with the invaluable help of Russia and other militias allied with the regime; however, the deterioration of the country is preventing the return of the huge number of displaced persons at a good pace. This is despite the Syrian authorities' attempts to reduce this figure, which so far has only been achieved by a still very small number.

According to the UNHCR, the number of people who have left the country was over 5.5 million in 2019, somewhat lower than the peak of 2018, when the figure was close to 7 million. To these numbers must be added internally displaced persons, so that, if we take into account that the Syrian population is around 17 million, around half the Syrian population has been forced to move internally or externally.