Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas
Territories (): Today I am updating the
House on the steps to update and adapt the UK's Syria sanctions
regime following the fall of Assad's dictatorship in December
last year and given the ongoing political transition.
On 12 February, the UK issued a Humanitarian General Licence to
provide essential sanctions relief to Syria, a country facing
staggering humanitarian needs, a broken economy and in the first
stages of recovery after almost fourteen years of conflict.
My statement to the House on 13 February indicated the direction
of travel for our Syria sanctions regulations. On 6 March, we
announced the de-listing of 24 Syrian entities that were
previously used by the Assad regime to fund the oppression of the
Syrian people, including the Central Bank of Syria, Syrian Arab
Airlines, and a number of energy companies.
On 24 April we took further steps towards helping the Syrian
people rebuild their country and economy. We have amended our
Syria sanctions regulations to bring them up to date and have
revoked specific sanctions measures on energy, transport
(aircraft), financial transactions and trade. We have also
de-listed a further 12 governmental and media entities given that
they are no longer associated with the Assad regime and their
designations were defunct. Our revised Syria sanctions
regulations however give the UK scope to deploy future sanctions
in the Syria context, should that become necessary.
In taking these steps, our intention is to help open up the
Syrian financial system and support the flow of essential
investment in energy infrastructure, above all in the electricity
generation sector, essential for Syria's reconstruction. This is
vital for ensuring stability in Syria and the wider region -
recognising that wider international steps will be necessary to
support these objectives.
The Government remains determined to hold Bashar al-Assad and his
associates accountable for their atrocious actions against the
people of Syria. As such, we will ensure that asset freezes and
travel bans imposed on members of the former regime remain in
force. We also continue to keep the ongoing developments in Syria
under close review.
As my Honourable Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of
State for the Middle East said in his statement to the House back
in March, stability in Syria is firmly in our interests. We will
continue to engage with the Syrian Government at all levels to
support an inclusive political transition, and to encourage
commitment to the protection of human rights, unfettered access
for humanitarian aid, safe destruction of chemical weapons
stockpiles, and combatting terrorism and extremism. The UK
remains committed to the people of Syria and will continue to
stand with them in building a more stable, free and prosperous
future.
