{"id":1359,"date":"2020-07-01T09:46:52","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T13:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ielrblog.com\/?post_type=article&p=1359"},"modified":"2020-07-01T11:36:16","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T15:36:16","slug":"trump-administration-orders-sanctions-to-be-imposed-on-syrias-bashar-al-assad-his-family-and-his-associates","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/ielrblog.com\/index.php\/article\/trump-administration-orders-sanctions-to-be-imposed-on-syrias-bashar-al-assad-his-family-and-his-associates\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Administration Orders Sanctions to be Imposed on Syria\u2019s Bashar Al-Assad, His Family, and His Associates"},"content":{"rendered":"

On June 17, 2020, the Trump Administration\u00a0<\/span>imposed<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0new sanctions on the Syrian government, led by President Bashar al-Assad. The sanctions are intended to prevent private and foreign investors from supporting reconstruction and revenue-producing efforts in the country,\u00a0which has been ravaged by a civil war. The purpose of the sanctions is to create accountability for the Assad regime\u2019s violence against the Syrian people\u00a0<\/span>through the use of<\/span>\u00a0diplomatic and coercive economic measures. The Caesar Act was sponsored by Senator James Risch (R-Id.) and signed into action by President Trump in December 2019.\u00a0<\/span> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

The Sanctions<\/i><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The sanctions were the first implementation of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, which was\u00a0<\/span>passed<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0by Congress last year in response to thousands of photographs of torture in Syrian prisons that were taken by the pseudonymous photographer for whom the bill is named. The Caesar Act also indicates that\u00a0the Department of the Treasury can impose special measures on the Bank of Syria if the\u00a0Treasury determines the Bank to be a sufficient money laundering concern. The bill also imposes sanctions on people who knowingly provide goods or services to Syria that the President believes could be used to commit human rights violations, such as military aircraft and items on the U.S. Munitions List. The President is authorized to impose sanctions against people who have provided significant support or engage in a significant transaction with the Syrian government and against actors who are knowingly responsible for human rights violations against the Syrian people.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The new sanctions under the Caesar Act are coupled with preexisting sanctions against Syria that were\u00a0<\/span>established<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0in Executive Order 13582 in August 2011. The Executive Order, signed\u00a0by then-President Barack Obama during the Arab Spring, included restricting travel\u00a0and\u00a0isolating persons from the U.S. financial system\u00a0who\u202fengage\u202fin\u202for finance\u202fthe obstruction, prevention, or disruption of a ceasefire\u202for political solution to the conflict\u202fin Syria.\u00a0Despite the sanctions, Assad was still able to commit human rights violations against Syrians.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Treasury and State departments identified 39 individuals or entities that are eligible for these new restrictions under the guidelines provided by the Caesar Act.\u00a0<\/span>Included<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0on this list are Assad himself and his wife Asma al-Assad. The European Union placed Asma al-Assad under sanctions in 2012, but this is the first time the U.S. has taken direct steps against Asma. The new sanctions extend to the Syrian president\u2019s brother Maher al-Assad, head of the Fourth Division of the Syrian Arab Army. President Assad\u2019s sister Bushra al-Assad and members of the\u00a0<\/span>Hamsho<\/span>\u00a0family, which has close government ties, are also subjugated to the new sanctions.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The sanctions provide exemptions for humanitarian aid groups and organizations dedicated to promoting democracy in Syria. These measures are intended to ensure that aid can be delivered to Syrians suffering from displacement and other effects of the war, as well as mitigate the economic consequences faced by the Syrian people.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Regional Crisis<\/i><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Syria had already <\/span>devalued<\/span><\/a>\u00a0its currency by 44 percent just hours before the sanctions took effect amid fears that the sanctions would worsen the country\u2019s economic crisis. The Syrian government,\u00a0<\/span>in an effort to<\/span>\u00a0control the flow of currency and the exchange rate,\u00a0has cracked down\u00a0on hawala, or offices of exchange that are used by the majority of Syrians<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The financial crisis in Lebanon, including a shortage of foreign currency and controls on withdrawals, is also affecting Syrians who did commercial transactions or saved their money in that country. Iran\u2019s economy is also strained by U.S. sanctions. The entire region is suffering from additional economic pressure due to the coronavirus outbreak.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The new sanctions will likely\u00a0affect\u00a0the flow of foreign capital into Syria for post-war reconstruction, especially from Russia and Iran. Therefore, the sanctions from the Caesar Act also further limit the economic mobility of two other countries that the U.S. has already sanctioned.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Government Responses to the Sanctions<\/i><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. lawmakers applauded the sanctions as a much-needed step against the Assad regime. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.) called the implementation of Caesar\u2019s Act \u201ca welcome but overdue step\u201d in reprimanding the Syrian government\u2019s actions in the country\u2019s civil war.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a statement on\u00a0June 17, 2020,\u00a0Secretary of State Mike Pompeo\u00a0<\/span>called<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0the sanctions \u201cthe beginning of what will be a sustained campaign of economic and political pressure to deny the Assad regime revenue and support it uses to wage war and commit mass atrocities against the Syrian people.\u201d\u00a0Pompeo also declared that the U.S. was undertaking these new measures\u00a0in its pressure campaign \u201cin full cooperation with other like-minded countries.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The White House Press Secretary\u00a0<\/span><\/span>issued<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0a statement of support for the Caesar Act on June 17 as well. It read,\u00a0\u201cToday\u2019s designations send a clear message that no individual or business should enter into business with or otherwise enrich such a vile regime.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In\u00a0<\/span>response<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0to the new sanctions, the\u00a0Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the country’s state-run news agency criticized “the level at which the officials of this [US] administration had descended.”\u00a0The Syrian government\u00a0called the sanctions a “violation of all international laws and customs.”<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On June 17, 2020, the Trump Administration\u00a0imposed\u00a0new sanctions on the Syrian government, led by President Bashar al-Assad. The sanctions are intended to prevent private and foreign investors from supporting reconstruction and revenue-producing efforts in the country,\u00a0which has been ravaged by a civil war. The purpose of the sanctions is to create accountability for the Assad […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"issuem_issue":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1359","1":"article","2":"type-article","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sanctions","7":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nTrump Administration Orders Sanctions to be Imposed on Syria\u2019s Bashar Al-Assad, His Family, and His Associates | IELR Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ielrblog.com\/index.php\/article\/trump-administration-orders-sanctions-to-be-imposed-on-syrias-bashar-al-assad-his-family-and-his-associates\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump Administration Orders Sanctions to be Imposed on Syria\u2019s Bashar Al-Assad, His Family, and His Associates | IELR Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On June 17, 2020, the Trump Administration\u00a0imposed\u00a0new sanctions on the Syrian government, led by President Bashar al-Assad. 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