A UN special rapporteur on Thursday called for the removal of US and other Western sanctions on Syria as they are having a devastating impact on the civilian population and preventing the country from rebuilding after 11 years of war.
Alena Douhan, a special rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures, made the comments after a 12-day visit to Syria. There she found that sanctions are harming civilians in many ways, including by causing a shortage of medicine and medical equipment.
“In the current dramatic and still-deteriorating humanitarian situation, as 12 million Syrians grapple with food insecurity, I urge the immediate lifting of all unilateral sanctions that severely harm human rights and prevent any efforts for early recovery, rebuilding, and reconstruction,” Douhan told the UN Security Council.
US officials have been candid about the fact that the sanctions campaign against Syria is specifically designed to prevent the country from rebuilding. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last year that it is US policy to “oppose the reconstruction of Syria” until there is regime change in Damascus.
Douhan said that the “catastrophic effects of unilateral sanctions” are impacting people “across all walks of life in the country.” She said that 90% of Syria’s civilian population is living in poverty and have limited access to food, water, electricity, shelter, fuel, healthcare, and transportation.
On top of the sanctions campaign, the US also maintains an occupation force of about 1,000 troops in eastern Syria and backs Kurdish groups in the region, allowing Washington to maintain control of about one-third of the country. The area that the US occupies is where most of Syria’s oil and wheat fields are located, and the US is keeping the vital resources from Damascus.
The US also tacitly backs Israeli airstrikes in Syria and occasionally launches some of its own. Despite the dire humanitarian crisis, there’s no sign that the US will change the policy. The White House said at the end of October that it has “no plans” to lift the sanctions or end its military occupation in Syria.
US policy is to “oppose the reconstruction of Syria” until there is regime change in Damascus.
right then. uncle sam is claiming to fight ISIS who are opposed to syrian president assad, but uncle sam is also opposed to assad, which is why sam perpetrated chemical gas attacks on syrian peoples in 2013 and falsely blamed it on assad and today uncle sam is openly stealing the oil directly from syrian oil facilities. way to go uncle sam. left unsaid is that syria never invited uncle sam there in the first place and has repeatedly ordered uncle sam to leave. russia on the other hand was invited into syria and was actually helping syria to fight ISIS and repel israeli bomber jets until russia magically got preoccupied with eliminating US bio-weapon labs in ukraine. again; way to go uncle sam, what ever would the world do without you.
welcome to the New American Century.
The Century of the best of the best of the best. /s
We are always pointing our fingers at other countries, accusing them of aggression. Not only are we trying to make the people of Syria suffer but ditto Lebanon. Another U.S. official says that we are destroying Lebanon to eradicate Hezbollah.
https://thecradle.co/Article/News/18027
Lebanon use to be such a lovely country (Years ago), now it seems like a giant dumping ground for everyones problems… I’m not sure that destroying Lebanon is the best idea… Besides, I’m sure there are plenty of other places Hezbollah can utilize…
That is the point. We create hellish areas that draw terrorists like moths to light. Then, we have our military geniuses hyperventilate, attack some poor country, drone some citizens, then create more terrorists. Rinse. Repeat. Get more dough from Congress. Rinse. Repeat.
syria was also a nice place
Like, where? Hezbollah has provided the military presence that has helped prevent the Israelis and other regional actors from destabilizing Lebanon in recent times, despite (and largely because of) the fact that Hezbollah is closely aligned with Iran and Syria.
I’m past the point of beginning to despise my own country for the obscenely corrupt way we engage with the rest of the world.
Totally brain-dead barbarity. Way to win hearts & minds Tel Aviv.
Not only does the US not care about Syrians, they are probably behind the recent cholera outbreak there.