Syria

After the earthquakes, sanctions should be lifted to prevent hunger crisis

There are no easy solutions to the problems in Syria. This is because there are many different layers to the conflict, including fighting between government and opposition forces, the presence of extremist militia and the involvement of foreign powers. The crisis remains one of the worst humanitarian disasters of our time, resulting in massive internal displacement and outflow of refugees.

Economic sanctions on Syria are described by experts as some of the ‘most complicated and far-reaching sanctions regimes ever imposed’. They include a labyrinth of legal injunctions and complicated layers of bureaucracy – even more complex and more severe than those previously applied to Sudan. It is immensely difficult to import essential fuel, food and medicine into Syria.

Economic sanctions contribute to a worsening of the humanitarian crisis. They are among the biggest causes of suffering for the Syrian people. Sanctions restrict access to essential food supplies and basics like soap and disinfectant. They also deter aid organisations from supporting much-needed reconstruction projects.

Local Partner

EPDC

St Ephrem Patriarchal Development Committee (EPDC) provides humanitarian assistance to displaced Syrian families and Iraqi refugees.

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Sanctions that were imposed in the name of delivering human rights are in fact killing people and depriving them of fundamental rights, including the rights to health, to food and to life itself.

UN Human Rights Experts

Stop the siege on the Syrian People! Lift the international sanctions on Syria and allow [the] people to live in dignity.

Patriarchs of the Syriac Orthodox, Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic church

The continued imposition of crippling economic sanctions on Syria… severely undermines the ordinary citizens' fundamental right to sufficient and adequate food.

Hilal Elver, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food

The HART-EPDC project works really well in Syria as it relies on local produce, knowledge and expertise, and particularly the skills of women.

Bishop Boutros Kassis, Executive Director of EPDC

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