Sweeping sanctions imposed by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, and other countries are hindering the restoration of essential services in Syria, Human Rights Watch said today.
These sanctions, imposed on the former government of Bashar al-Assad, remain in place despite its collapse and lack clear, measurable conditions for removal. They are hindering reconstruction efforts and exacerbating the suffering of millions of Syrians struggling to access critical rights, including to electricity and an adequate standard of living.
"Syria is in desperate need of reconstruction and Syrians are struggling to survive," said Hiba Zayadin, senior Syria researcher at Human Rights Watch. "With the collapse of the former government, broad sanctions now stand as a major obstacle to restoring essential services such as health care, water, electricity, and education."
Thirteen years of conflict and displacement have left much of Syria's infrastructure in ruins, with entire towns uninhabitable, schools, hospitals, roads, water facilities and electrical grids damaged, public services barely functioning, and the economy in freefall. Over 90 percent of Syrians live below the poverty line, with at least 13 million-more than half the population-unable to access or afford enough quality food, and at least 16.5 million Syrians across Syria requiring some form of humanitarian aid to meet their basic needs. Human Rights Watch previously found that broad sanctions hindered aid delivery in Syria, despite humanitarian exemptions, and especially after the February 2023 earthquakes in northern Syria.
Sanctioning entities should prioritize the well-being of Syrian civilians by lifting sanctions that hinder access to basic rights. This includes restoring Syria's access to global financial systems, ending trade restrictions on essential goods, addressing energy sanctions to ensure access to fuel and electricity, and providing clear legal assurances to financial institutions and businesses to mitigate the chilling effect of overcompliance, Human Rights Watch said.
Syria has been under international sanctions for over 45 years. Since 2011, the United States, the EU, the UK, and others have imposed more severe sanctions on the Syrian government, its officials, and its entities in response to the previous government's war crimes and human rights violations. These sanctions include targeted asset freezes and travel bans, as well as broader restrictions on trade, financial transactions, and key industries.
Certain armed groups operating in Syria and designated as terrorist organizations, including Hay'et Tahrir al Sham (HTS), are also subject to United Nations Security Council-mandated counterterrorism measures that prohibit making funds, assets, and economic resources available directly or indirectly to them. HTS, which led the ouster of the Assad government and which dominates the caretaker government, announced in late January 2025 that the group was "dissolved" and would be absorbed into state institutions alongside other armed groups.
The United States enforces the most severe measures, prohibiting nearly all trade and financial transactions with Syria, including exports of US goods, software, and services, with limited exceptions for humanitarian aid. The Caesar Act extends these restrictions by sanctioning foreign companies engaged in business with the Syrian government, particularly in oil and gas, construction, and engineering.
EU sanctions focus on banning the purchase of Syrian crude oil, restricting investments, and limiting Syrian banks' access to EU financial systems. Financial sanctions also restrict bond sales, new bank accounts for Syrian institutions, and transactions with designated individuals. State-owned entities like the Central Bank of Syria, Syriatel, a major telecom company, and Syrian airlines are also sanctioned, with impacts on sectors like education due to restrictions on Information Technology imports and software access. EU sanctions also prevent the sale, supply, transfer or export of goods and technology that might be used for internal repression. The UK government's sanctions regime largely resembles the EU's.
Since the fall of the Assad government, the United States and European countries have made limited adjustments to their sanctions policies. In January 2025, the United States authorized limited energy and remittance-related transactions in Syria, while the EU proposed a conditional plan to ease sanctions, and the UK announced forthcoming amendments for parliamentary debate.
But in February, the new head of Syria's Investment Agency, Ayman Hamawiye, called the steps taken "inadequate" and told Reuters that Western sanctions on Syria's banking sector, in particular, are preventing critical investments in the economy.
The country's reconstruction needs are estimated to exceed US$250 billion, spanning infrastructure, essential services, and economic recovery. The healthcare system is in critical condition, with over half of Syria's hospitals nonfunctional, and with severe shortages of medical and other necessary supplies. Water infrastructure is similarly degraded, with at least two-thirds of treatment plants, half of pumping stations, and a third of water towers damaged since 2011, according to the UN Children's Fund. Education is in crisis, with over 7,000 schools damaged or destroyed and about 2 million children out of school.
For years, broad sectoral sanctions have exacerbated Syria's economic crisis, fueling inflation, depleting essential goods, and creating a complex web of financial and trade barriers that narrow and inconsistently applied humanitarian exemptions fail to meaningfully address. These restrictions-compounded by counterterrorism measures, export controls, and private sector overcompliance-have made it difficult for aid organizations, financial institutions, and businesses to operate effectively in the country.
In just one example, the current US Treasury license does not exempt internet services, telecom infrastructure, and digital tools, barriers that Access Now and over 160 civil society groups warn have hampered Syrians' access to critical online tools and services. Lifting these broad sanctions is crucial for exercising their human rights online and can play an important role in economic growth.
The broad designation of Syrian state entities, including the central bank, key financial institutions, and state-run utilities, weakened already struggling infrastructure and services. Restrictions on the energy sector, have exacerbated fuel and electricity shortages, worsening the strain on water systems, food supply chains, and healthcare facilities. Comprehensive trade sanctions-particularly the near-total US ban on exports to Syria-have limited access to vital imports, including medical supplies, agricultural equipment, and industrial materials necessary for reconstruction.
The humanitarian carveouts in United States, UK, and EU sanctions vary from one sanctioning entity to another, are piecemeal in nature, and have separate restrictions, limitations, and compliance procedures, making it difficult, time consuming, and costly for banks, exporters, and humanitarian actors to navigate and ensure compliance.
Financial institutions, wary of legal risks and potential penalties, have often refused to engage in Syria even when exemptions exist. This chilling effect has led to widespread financial "de-risking," cutting off banking channels and making it difficult to process transactions for humanitarian aid, trade, and private sector engagement. Humanitarian groups have repeatedly warned that such short-term measures do not provide enough certainty for businesses and financial institutions to re-engage Syria. UN experts have also criticized humanitarian exemptions in sanctions as "ineffective and inefficient," citing structural flaws that hinder humanitarian work.
Human Rights Watch opposes sanctions that have a disproportionately negative impact on human rights or create unnecessary suffering, and maintains that sanctions should not be punitive, but should instead be designed to deter and correct human rights abuses. To be effective, sanctions must be tied to clear, measurable, and attainable conditions for their removal, with regular monitoring to assess progress. The Caesar Act in the United States was designed to punish the Assad government, but in a post-Assad world, its broad and indefinite restrictions risk harming civilians without advancing clear human rights objectives.
"Rather than using broad sectoral sanctions as leverage for shifting political objectives, Western governments should recognize their direct harm to civilians and take meaningful steps to lift restrictions that impede access to basic rights," Zayadin said. "A piecemeal approach of temporary exemptions and limited waivers is not enough. Sanctions that harm civilians should immediately be lifted, not refined."
