Al-Jaafari affirms necessity of lifting unilateral economic sanctions imposed on the Syrian people

Syria’s permanent representative to the UN Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari affirmed the necessity of lifting the unilateral economic sanctions being imposed on the Syrian people, noting that the adverse consequences of these sanctions reached an unprecedented level as they have been accompanied by the repercussions of the terrorist war.

During the second committee meeting of the UN General Assembly, held under the title of “Unilateral Economic Measures as a Medium for Political and Economic Injustice Against Developing Countries”, al-Jaafari clarified that the Syrian people have been suffering from the adverse consequences of unilateral economic measures imposed by some governments for decades, stressing that these measures have reached unprecedented levels during the last few years as they were accompanied by the immoral policies of some governments represented by impeding the launching of the rebuilding process and hindering the return of  Syrian refugees to their homeland.  

The Syrian diplomat said that Syria voted in favor of the draft resolution submitted to the meeting as it is considered a legal and political reflection of the UN stand which rejects unilateral economic sanctions as they constitute a collective punishment for some developing states and an obstacle hindering the objectives of the sustainable Development Plan for the year 2030.

Al-Jaafari pointed out that what we need today is real and speedy mechanisms to execute the UN recommendations which try to protect the victims of unilateral sanctions.We also need to   create an international register to record the unilateral measures that affect human rights.

Al-Jaafari reminded the meeting of the intervention made by the UN official in charge of reviewing the adverse consequences of the unilateral sanctions Idris al-Jaza’eri who said: “I am deeply concerned because the unilateral measures are aggravating the sufferings of the Syrian people. In light of the economic and humanitarian suffering caused by these unilateral measures, it is difficult to believe the allegations that these sanctions were imposed to protect the Syrian people or to urge for a democratic transfer.” 

Dr. al-Jaafari concluded that it is time to put an end for collective economic punishment adopted by certain states if they are actually committed to the principles of justice and equality.

K.Q.