The painful events in southern Syria remind us of the fragility of the Syrian transitional phase, given the international community's continued reluctance to extend an open hand to rescue Syria from the dire economic situation in which Syrians find themselves after more than half a century of an authoritarian regime that has destroyed Syria and its capabilities. Nothing represents this injustice to the new Syria more than the continued sanctions, especially since these sanctions were designed to punish the former regime. Now, these sanctions have become a tool to crush the very Syrian people, even they were originally designed to help.
When talking about sanctions, everyone mentions the law which was passed by the US Congress in 2019 under the name "Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act." This law imposed sanctions on the Syrian government, including then-President Bashar al-Assad, for "war crimes against the Syrian people." The law went into effect after President Donald Trump signed it in December 2019. It was originally scheduled to expire in December 2024, but the Biden administration renewed the act for another five years, despite the fall of President Assad's regime.
But the sanctions on Syria are broader, more comprehensive, and much older than the "Caesar Act", and they must be addressed in their entirety. The first sanctions imposed on Syria date back to 1979. Then, Congress first designated Syria a state sponsor of international terrorism. This designation, according to congressional, denies Syria sovereign immunity, making it vulnerable to lawsuits in the United States based on certain terrorist acts.
In the same context, Syria was also designated as a country that has failed to cooperate with international counterterrorism efforts and is prohibited from trading with the United States on any defence-related matters or services.
There are numerous other executive orders sanctioning the Syrian government for its support of terrorism, its policies toward Lebanon, its possession and use of weapons of mass destruction, its alleged destabilization of Iraq, corruption, violations of human rights and the rights of Syrian citizens, and sanctions evasion. Congressional documents indicate that 681 individuals and entities have been designated and sanctioned by the beginning of this year under these headings related to the record of the former Syrian regime.
There are also sanctions on banks and the oil and petroleum sector. In 2020, President Trump placed the Central Bank of Syria on a list of entities prohibited from dealing with. There are also decisions prohibiting US banks from dealing with the Commercial Bank of Syria (and the Syrian-Lebanese Commercial Bank), which are accused of money laundering.
In 2018, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham was designated a terrorist organization, and an executive order named its leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, a terrorist.
In January of this year, the Biden administration, before the end of its term, authorized transactions in Syria, including with the new Syrian administration related to oil, gas, electricity, and non-commercial financial transfers, enabling the Syrian government to accept aid to alleviate the burden of the economic crisis. However, sanctions remain in place on the state and its entities.
These sanctions burden the government, which is already facing a difficult situation: 90 percent of the Syrian population lives in poverty, 16.5 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian aid, and entire sectors such as agriculture, energy, health, and finance are crippled. The impact of this paralysis is preventing the government from combating poverty and creating job opportunities.
Removing these sanctions is essential for the success of the transitional phase, and lifting them is a responsibility by both the Syrians and the international community.
Syria and its government must reassure the international community that it will be a just, democratic, inclusive, and peaceful state. They must also approach the issue of sanctions in a professional and scientific manner, as simply demanding the lifting of sanctions is not enough. These sanctions are numerous, and most have been overtaken by events and time. However, they remain in place and must be lifted through specialized bodies, which must repeal those that can be legally lifted, while others require a political decision, which may take time and be gradual.