Sanctions against Syria

Sanctions against Syria are a series of economic sanctions and restrictions imposed by the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, the Arab League, as well as other countries, mainly as a result of the repression of civilians in the Syrian civil war from 2011 onwards. The intent is to prevent the Syrian government from employing violence against its citizens and to motivate political reforms that could solve the root causes of the conflict.[1]

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A number of humanitarian waivers have been embedded within the sanctions mechanism; so as to allow the steady flow of economic assistance, food supplies, etc. to the civilians living in government-held areas. Through these mechanisms, the United Nations have transported billions of dollars of aid annually to the government; with more than 90% of the total supplies being delivered from the United States, EU, United Kingdom, and Canada.[2][3]

Timeline

In 1979, the United States put Syria on the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.[4]

In November 1986, the European Community (EC) imposed a package of sanctions that included a ban on the sale of new arms to Syria, a ban on high-level visits, review of embassy and consular staff, and strict security measures with regard to Syrian Arab Airlines. These measures were lifted in 1994.[5]

Between March and August 2004, the United States issued new sanctions against the Syrian government. These new sanctions are a follow-up to the policy of combating the Axis of evil conducted by the Bush administration, which "condemns the alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction by the Syrian regime, condemns its grip on Lebanon and its willingness to destabilize Iraq, as well as its support for terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas."

The first sanctions were applied on the country after the outbreak of the crisis was on 29 April 2011.,[lower-alpha 1] after an executive order was issued by President Barack Obama to block property of those involved in the violations.[6] Canada imposed its first sanctions on May 25, 2011 in the form of a travel ban, asset freeze, ban on the export of certain goods and technology that may be used by the armed forces, and suspension of all bilateral agreements and initiatives.[7]

Sanctions following the civil war

In May 2011, the European Union adopted sanctions against Syria, in particular by prohibiting the trade in goods that could be used for the repression of the civilian population.

In August 2011, the United States put in place an embargo on the oil sector, freezing the financial assets of a number of personalities, as well as those of the Syrian state itself. In addition, the United States prohibits the export of goods and services originating in the territory of the United States or from United States companies or persons to Syria. This prohibition concerns any product of which at least 10% of the value comes from the United States or one of its nationals. This measure has a wide impact on the Syrian population and on the price of commodities and medical products.

In September 2011, the European Union, in turn, adopted an embargo against the Syrian oil sector.[8] This embargo has a significant impact on the Syrian economy by the importance of oil exports to the Union for Syria before the civil war, which was around 20% of the GDP.

In November 2011, the Arab League announced in turn the freezing of Syrian government's financial assets, the end of financial exchanges with the Central Bank of Syria, the cessation of airlines between the countries of the Arab League and Syria, the ban on the stay of several Syrian figures and the cessation of investments in Syria by the Arab League states.[9][10] Lebanon and Yemen have opposed these sanctions. In the same month, Turkey also announced the freezing of the Syrian state's financial assets.

Canada, Australia and Switzerland have also put in place economic and financial sanctions against Syria. For example, Canada prohibits, through several rounds of decisions taken from May 2011 to November 2012, all imports of goods from Syria, as well as the export of luxury goods to Syria, financial services related to Syria and any investment in this country.

Other sanctions measures were put in place by the European Union in February 2012 concerning the energy sector, the supply of arms and the financial sector of Syria,[11] as well as the mining sector. In addition, in 2012, 120 Syrian officials or institutions had their financial assets frozen by the European Union and cannot travel to the European Union. This includes Bashar al-Assad, the Central Bank of Syria and several ministers. In June 2012, the European Union banned the trade in luxury goods with Syria, as well as a number of commercial products.[12] At the same time, the European Union strengthened its measures of restrictions on Syria in the fields of armaments, law enforcement and telecommunications control sectors.[13]

However, several EU member states have received sanctioned Syrian ministers in their lands, under the guise of attending UN and intergovernmental conferences since 2018.[14]

In March 2017, a UN Security Council draft resolution aimed to establish sanctions against Syria following the use of chemical weapons in its territory. However, Russia and China vetoed it. It is the 7th draft resolution for sanctions that have been rejected as a result of the exercise of vetoes. The resolution envisaged prohibiting the trade in helicopter parts and setting up the freezing of financial assets of some military figures from the Syrian government.[15]

In April 2017, the United States imposed financial freeze and travel ban to financial services against 270 government employees of the Syrian government following the Khan Sheikhoun attack.[16]

In March 2021, the EU declared that sanctions would remain in place until a political transformation in Syria commences.[17]

On 31 May 2022, the EU extended its sanctions against the Syrian government for a further year.[18]

On 9 February 2023, the US Treasury Department announced it would temporarily lift some sanctions for 180 days to allow new earthquake relief efforts. The US said the sanctions already contained robust exemptions for humanitarian assistance, and they "will not stand in the way" of saving lives.[19] The Syrian Ministry responded in a statement that the US' decision was "misleading and aims to give a false humanitarian impression" and that "the facts on the ground proved its falsehood."[20][21]

Sanctioned individuals

This is a partial list of Syrian officials who have been subjected to sanctions, some of them prior to 2011. President Assad was sanctioned for the first time on 18 May 2011.[22]

Impacts

All of these measures taken by the United States and the European Union, including the ban on the export of US products, the oil embargo and financial sanctions, have a wide impact on the Syrian population, leading to a near-embargo of the country as a result of the sanctions imposed by trade or humanitarian aid entities to that country and the legal complexity of such measures. The impact also affects the medical sector.[23][24]

The devastating earthquake that occurred in February 2023 contributed to the increase in the suffering of Syrians facing sanctions, as countries and organizations will not be able to provide direct aid due to the threat of sanctions.[25][26] Sanctions against Syria relating to the blocking of banks and payment processors led to the banning of international charities and families attempting to send money to affected people in Syria. The U.S later temporarily lifted certain sanctions which allowed charities to send money to Syria.[27]

The complexity for average Syrians stems from the fact that territories abundant in resources like oil, wheat and cotton are held by non-state organizations such as the SDF, which is supported by the United States.[28][29] Faisal Mekdad, Syria's Foreign Minister, estimated that the country has been deprived of $107 billion in oil and gas earnings since 2011.[29]

Positions

A number of countries have called for the sanctions to be lifted such as China, Iran, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.[30][31][32] The common position they have is that these economic restrictions harm the civilians in the first place and derail any meaningful reconstruction of the country. Alena Douhan, the UN Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures, urgently demanded that the US and the EU abolish their unilateral sanctions as they violate international law.[33]

On 7 February 2023, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent urged Western countries to lift sanctions. Not just the Assad government had demanded the removal of sanctions, but it has been a longstanding complaint among NGO's because they "hurt civilians and humanitarian efforts".[34] Calls for the lifting of sanctions against Syria have increased dramatically since the 2023 earthquake that hit both Syria and Turkey, with the Iranian Foreign Ministry also demanding the lifting of sanctions.[35]

Other anlaysts have criticized such calls as pro-Assad propaganda to obtain political recognition in the West, noting that Western countries continue to fund the vast majority of the humanitarian aid to the regime; within the scope of the existing sanctions mechanism.[36] International Lawyer Sehr Muhammedally, Director of MENA and South Asia Department at CIVIC, stated that Assad's starvation tactics has effectively transformed Idlib into an "open-air prison". Muslim-American civic organization Emgage noted that sanctions did not bear impact on humanitarian aid, instead criticizing Russian and Iranian governments for obscuring "Assad’s role in destroying the country" and economic mismanagement.[37][38]

See also

Notes
  1. Certain sanctions extend back to the late 1970s

References
  1. "The Dilemmas in the Debate on Syria Sanctions | GCSP". www.gcsp.ch.
  2. Lister, S. Ford, Camara, Charles, Robert, Kamissa (13 February 2023). "Syria's Assad exploits earthquake aftermath to push for sanctions relief". Middle East Institute. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. "Financial Tracking: Syrian Arab Republic 2022". UNOCHA.org. Archived from the original on 15 February 2023.
  4. "State Sponsor: Syria". Council on Foreign Relations.
  5. "Arms embargoes | SIPRI". www.sipri.org.
  6. https://www.steamshipmutual.com/sites/default/files/downloads/sanctions/US%20Executive%20Order%2013572%20Syria%2029%20April%202011.pdf
  7. "Canada imposes sanctions on Syrian leaders". BBC News. 24 May 2011.
  8. "EU extends sanctions to prohibit import of Syrian oil". www.ukpandi.com. 5 September 2011.
  9. "Arab League imposes sanctions on Syria | DW | 27 November 2011". Deutsche Welle.
  10. "What the Arab League's Sanctions on Syria Mean". The Atlantic. 27 November 2011.
  11. "Update and Overview of Syria Sanctions". www.ukpandi.com. 2 February 2012.
  12. "UK sanctions relating to Syria". GOV.UK.
  13. "EU arms embargo on Syria | SIPRI". www.sipri.org.
  14. Monitor, Euro-Med Human Rights. "Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor – European sanctions and backdoor policies for war criminals in Syria". Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  15. York, Reuters in New (1 March 2017). "Russia and China veto UN resolution to impose sanctions on Syria". the Guardian. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  16. Davis, Julie Hirschfeld (24 April 2017). "U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Syrian Government Workers After Sarin Attack". The New York Times.
  17. "EU: Sanctions won't be lifted from Syria before political transition". 11 March 2021.
  18. "EU Extends Restrictive Measures Against Syrian Government". June 2022.
  19. "US eases Syria restrictions to support earthquake relief" thenationalnews. Accessed 10 Feb 2023.
  20. Indo-Asian News Service (11 February 2023). "Syria says US claims to waive sanctions for earthquake relief 'misleading'". The Siasat Daily. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  21. "Syria: US decision to temporarily freeze sanctions is "misleading & false"". Saba News Agency. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  22. "Syria Sanctions".
  23. "Sanctions don't stop Assad, but hurt us all, say Syrian medics and businesspeople". Middle East Eye.
  24. Nehme, Dahlia (15 March 2017). "Syria sanctions indirectly hit children's cancer treatment". Reuters – via www.reuters.com.
  25. Abdulrahim, Raja (6 February 2023). "The earthquake struck war-scarred northern Syria". The New York Times.
  26. "Earthquake hits Turkey and Syria. Fr Bahjat ( parish priest in Aleppo): "A devastating tragedy, do not abandon us" | AgenSIR". 6 February 2023.
  27. Lapowsky, Issie (2 February 2023). "Syrians need help. Donors want to give. And GoFundMe is caught in the middle". FastCompany.
  28. "Experts slam U.S. For violating Syria's sovereignty by plundering resources, imposing sanctions-Xinhua".
  29. "Syrian Economic Outlook Dims as Internal Conflict, Resource Theft and Sanctions Persist". 24 November 2022.
  30. "Iran Demands Lifting of Unilateral Sanctions Against Syria: Envoy". 22 July 2022.
  31. "Chinese envoy urges full lift of unilateral sanctions on Syria now". 22 July 2022.
  32. "US sanctions complicate Syria's return to Arab League, UAE minister says". 9 March 2021.
  33. "UN expert calls for lifting of long-lasting unilateral sanctions 'suffocating' Syrian people".
  34. "Earthquake ignites debate over Syria sanctions and aid relief" newarab.com. Accessed 8 February 2023.
  35. "Calls mount to lift US sanctions on Syria".
  36. Lister, S. Ford, Camara, Charles, Robert, Kamissa (13 February 2023). "Syria's Assad exploits earthquake aftermath to push for sanctions relief". Middle East Institute. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  37. Ioanes, Ellen (12 February 2023). "Why the earthquake caused a "perfect storm" of a crisis in Syria". Vox. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023.
  38. Alzayat, Wa'el (9 February 2023). "Lifting sanctions on Syria won't help earthquake victims". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023.
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