Two senators have introduced a bill to repeal the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act that enacted sanctions on the government of Bashar Al Assad for war crimes against the Syrian people.
Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Rand Paul on Wednesday announced the bill, saying the sanctions had achieved their goal of isolating the former president but that they now threaten to derail Syria’s path towards stability and reconstruction.
“The Syrian people have a generational opportunity to write a new chapter for their country and the entire Middle East,“ said Ms Shaheen. “We can keep the new Syrian authorities accountable without decimating the economy. Sustained diplomatic engagement can yield tremendous results."
The Assad regime fell last December after a lightning offensive by groups led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham. HTS's leader, Ahmad Al Shara, was chosen as transitional president.
The new government in Damascus lobbied for western countries to remove sanctions levied during Mr Al Assad's rule. Although Washington has been wary of the new government, because HTS was previously allied with Al Qaeda, President Donald Trump announced in May that the US would remove sanctions.
Repealing the Caesar Act would end broad-based economic sanctions while preserving US tools to hold Syrian officials accountable, the senators said in a statement.
“While the Caesar Act was intended to isolate the Assad regime, it has ended up punishing everyday Syrians – fuelling poverty, crippling recovery and blocking progress toward peace," Mr Paul said. "This repeal is about restoring a more targeted, principled approach that holds bad actors accountable without inflicting unnecessary suffering on the very people we claim to support."
The bill would further remove significant risks for companies looking to do business in Syria, giving the country an opportunity for economic recovery after years of economic stagnation.
