A United Nations rapporteur has called on the international community to lift «unilateral» sanctions on Syria, as they only perpetuate and exacerbate both the destruction and trauma suffered by the Syrian people since 2011.
The UN special rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures and human rights, Belarusian Alena Douhan, said that 90 percent of the population in the country currently lives below the poverty line.
«With more than half of the vital infrastructure completely destroyed or severely damaged, the imposition of unilateral sanctions on key economic sectors, such as oil, gas, electricity, trade, construction and engineering, has wiped out national revenues,» she said, according to a statement from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The restrictions, Douhan argued, undermine «economic recovery and reconstruction efforts» in a country «whose people are struggling to rebuild a life with dignity after a decade-long war.»
He made these remarks after a twelve-day trip to Syria during which he was able to see the «catastrophic» effects that the sanctions have on the daily lives of Syrians. In particular, he stressed that the blocking of payments, together with the limited foreign exchange reserves, have caused a «severe shortage of medicines and specialized medical equipment» for chronic diseases.
Likewise, the «devastating» effects of the restrictions have caused difficulties in international cooperation in areas such as science, arts, sports, preservation of national cultural heritage, access to new technologies or cooperation in security, among others.
«No reference to good objectives of unilateral sanctions justifies the violation of fundamental human rights. The international community has an obligation of solidarity and assistance to the Syrian people,» he concluded.
