The UN: Washington Must Remove its Sanctions

Alena Douhan, the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, renewed calls on the US to remove unilateral sanctions on Syria that could affect the ability to rebuild civilian infrastructure destroyed during the last 10 years.

According to the news published by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Douhan specifically made note of the Caesar Act, which “contains the most wide-ranging US sanctions ever applied against Syria”.

In this regard, Douhan said “I am concerned that sanctions imposed under the Caesar Act may exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in Syria, especially in the course of COVID-19 pandemic, and put the Syrian people at even greater risk of human rights violations”.

She also made note of the US’s allegations with regard to the Caesar Act that it is not intended to harm the Syrian people; nevertheless, in application, “the Act may worsen the existing humanitarian crisis, depriving the Syrian people of the chance to rebuild their basic infrastructure”. In this regard, Douhan raised concerns with the Caesar Act’s ability to violate human rights, particularly in this case, “the Syrian people’s rights to housing, health, and an adequate standard of living and development”.

In a previous statement, dated 7 August 2020, Douhan had commented on the burden that the so-called “humanitarian exemptions” of the Caesar Act place on entities that try to provide humanitarian assistance in Syria.