DAMASCUS (AP) – A UN envoy has urged Western and Arab countries to lift sanctions imposed on Syria years ago, warning that the measures are exacerbating “the destruction and trauma” Syrian civilians have been exposed to since the country’s foreign-backed war started 11 years ago.
Alena Douhan, the UN’s special rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures and human rights, said the sanctions are leading to shortages in medicines and medical equipment that affect the lives of ordinary Syrians.
The statement, at the end of Douhan’s 12-day visit to the war-torn country, detailed what she described as “catastrophic effects of unilateral sanctions across all walks of life in the country.”
Sanctions by the U.S., the EU and some Arab countries have been in place since 2011. The sanctions have targeted the oil industry, money transfers and a number of institutions and officials.
“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 said, adding that 12 million Syrians grapple with food insecurity.
Douhan said that 90 percent of Syria’s population currently lives in poverty, with limited access to food, water, electricity, shelter, cooking and heating and fuel.
With more than half of Syria’s vital infrastructure either “completely destroyed or severely damaged,” the sanctions are undermining efforts towards economic recovery, she added.
Once an oil exporter, Syria now relies on imports, and higher fuel costs caused by the sanctions have pushed up prices in nearly every sector.
Douhan said that blocking payments and refusal of deliveries by foreign producers and banks, coupled with sanctions-induced limited foreign currency reserves, “have caused serious shortages in medicines and specialized medical equipment, particularly for chronic and rare diseases.”
“No reference to good objectives of unilateral sanctions justifies the violation of fundamental human rights,” Douhan said.