Sanctions against Syria

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Sanctions against Syria are a series of economic sanctions imposed by the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, Switzerland and the Arab League, mainly as a result of the repression of civilians in the Syrian civil war from 2011 onwards.

History[]

In 1979, the United States put Syria on the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.[1]

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."

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.[2] 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. 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,[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8][9]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "State Sponsor: Syria". Council on Foreign Relations.
  2. ^ "EU extends sanctions to prohibit import of Syrian oil". www.ukpandi.com. 5 September 2011.
  3. ^ "Update and Overview of Syria Sanctions". www.ukpandi.com. 2 February 2012.
  4. ^ "UK sanctions relating to Syria". GOV.UK.
  5. ^ "EU arms embargo on Syria | SIPRI". www.sipri.org.
  6. ^ York, Reuters in New (March 1, 2017). "Russia and China veto UN resolution to impose sanctions on Syria". the Guardian.
  7. ^ Davis, Julie Hirschfeld (April 24, 2017). "U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Syrian Government Workers After Sarin Attack" – via NYTimes.com.
  8. ^ "Sanctions don't stop Assad, but hurt us all, say Syrian medics and businesspeople". Middle East Eye.
  9. ^ Nehme, Dahlia (March 15, 2017). "Syria sanctions indirectly hit children's cancer treatment" – via www.reuters.com.
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