Economic War against Syria


 * End of mission statement of the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights to the Syrian Arab Republic, 13 to 17 May 2018. Preliminary observations and recommendations, Idriss Jazairy, OHCHR, May 17, 2018


 * The purpose of this mission was to examine to what extent unilateral coercive measures targeting the Syrian Arab Republic impair the full realization of the rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments. [...] One source country [the US] has applied unilateral coercive measures since 1979, and they were strengthened in subsequent years. A larger group of States [the EU] began applying similar measures in 2011. [...] Because of their comprehensive nature, these measures have had a devastating impact on the entire economy and the daily lives of ordinary people.  This impact has compounded their suffering resulting from the devastating crisis that has unfolded since 2011.  Singling out the impact of the unilateral coercive measures from that of the crisis is fraught with difficulty, but this does in no way diminish the necessity to take measures to restore their basic human rights as a whole. It is clear that the sufferings imposed by the unilateral coercive measures have reinforced those that were caused by the conflict. Indeed, it seems ironic that these measures applied by source States out of a concern for human rights are actually contributing to the worsening of the humanitarian crisis as an unintended consequence.