International sanctions against Syria
International sanctions against Syria are a series of economic sanctions and restrictions imposed by the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland, mainly as a result of the repression of civilians in the Syrian civil war from 2011 onwards. The US sanctions against Syria are the most severe, as they affect third-parties as well, and amount to an embargo.[1] U.S. secondary sanctions were limited until 2020 when the Caesar Act entered into force.[2] 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.[3]
According to statista.com, Syria is the world's third most sanctioned country in the world as of March 2022.[4]
A number of humanitarian aid exemptions have been embedded within the sanctions mechanisms to allow approved humanitarian aid to civilians living in Syria; nonetheless, many humanitarian aid efforts towards Syria have been blocked due to the effects of sanctions.[5][6][7]
There were increasing calls for sanctions against Syria to be lifted after the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes due to its impact on humanitarian aid. The U.S later temporarily lifted some sanctions which allowed many charity organizations to send money to Syria.
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.[58]
Impacts on civilians[edit]
Sanctions have led to the shortage of medical equipment and medicine in Syria as its illegal for many international pharmaceutical companies to sell medicine to Syria due to sanctions, regardless of sanction exemption measures imposed by the United States and European Union towards medicine due to contradicting sanctions, medicines containing sanctioned chemicals, complex bureaucracy involved in getting approved for a sanction exemption license etc. Due to Syria’s reliance on imports for anti-cancer medicine, its cancer treatment hospital capabilities have been heavily hampered.[6] An Italian hospital director in Damascus told Middle East Eye in 2017 that its hospital had been partially financed by donations until sanctions prevented financial transactions to Syrian banks.[7]
Although sanctions do not prevent transfer of funds to registered NGOs working in Syria, sanctions have led to many fund-raising and money transfer companies (such as PayPal, Venmo and GoFundMe) to block or suspend attempts by charities and individuals seeking to send money to both government- and opposition-controlled areas due to sanctions against banks and payment processors.[59][60][61][62] The licensing requirements and complex bureaucracy of sanctions paperwork required for nonprofit organizations seeking to send humanitarian aid to Syria, combined with increasing audits for NGOs working in areas controlled by Islamists, had cost charity organizations millions of dollars by 2016. The bank accounts of many charities, including those working in non-government areas, were blocked or frozen due to banks' over-compliance with sanctions.[63][64][7]
Due to U.S sanctions banning the export, sale or supply of goods, software, technology and services to Syria, people in Syria are barred from accessing Western online platforms used for education, online shopping, work or leisure, such as Google, Netflix, Amazon (company), Zoom (software), Apple Inc. etc.[65]
Financial transaction sanctions made it illegal for video game companies to allow people in Syria to access their platforms. Sanctions in 2019 on services towards Syria and Iran made it illegal for free-to-play video game companies to let people in Syria access their platform, regardless of removing financial transactions within their games for people in Syria in trying to avoid previous sanctions, which forced video game companies to not allow people on their platforms in Iran and Syria.[66][67]
After the 2023 earthquakes, charity fundraising attempts towards supporting family members in government and opposition regions of Syria on the GoFundMe platform were blocked due to sanctions while the platform continued to only allow transfers to pre-approved registered NGOs and suspended other accounts attempting to send money to Syria for fear of non-compliance with U.S sanctions relating to banks and payment processors. After the U.S temporarily lifted certain sanctions, GoFundMe notified suspended charity accounts that they could send donations to Syria on their platform.[59][36]
Sanctions against Syria, even when exempt during natural catastrophes had been criticised by a number of organisations. A report by the Brookings Institution pointed out that EU and U.S. sanctions have led to severe shortages and contributed to the collapse of the Syrian currency. These strict sanction policies actually reduced the influence of Western nations with liberal democratic institutions and increased Syria's ties with nations such as Russia, China, Arab nations and of course Iran. The punitive sanctions had also unintended consequences on the Syrian populations and hindered the development of a middle class in the country that could change the economic course of the Syrian nation. After the U.S. and the EU temporarily lifted some minor sanctions subsequent to the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake, and the Middle East further destabilised during the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, an increase of Syrian refugees entering Western Europe via Cyprus was again clearly observed. The Syrian government that controls most of the official territory of Syria also claimed that economic sanctions hinder the return of Syrians to their homeland. Despite the readmission of Syria to the Arab League, the situation in Syria did not improve because regional peace efforts remain subordinate to the massive sanctions the U.S. and European nations impose on Syria. As many nations advocated the departure of the Assad regime, such a development now seems impossible as Arab nations urge a normalisation of ties with the Syrian government, economically and politically.[68][69]