Washington, Dec. 11 (SANA) The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday by a majority to repeal the sanctions imposed on Syria under the “Caesar Act,” which was enacted in December 2019 to penalize the former regime for war crimes committed against the Syrian people during the years of the uprising.
The repeal was comprehensive and unconditional. It was included as a provision in the 2026 U.S. Department of Defense budget bill, following extensive diplomatic efforts by the Syrian government, supported by the Syrian community and active Syrian-American organizations in Washington, as well as by allied and friendly countries that had worked to lift the sanctions.
Mohamed Alaa Ghanem, Head of Political Affairs at the Syrian American Council, told SANA: “The House of Representatives passed the Department of Defense budget bill for 2026, which includes the unconditional repeal of the Caesar Act, with a vote of 312 in favor and 112 against.”
For his part, Abdul Hafeez Sharaf, a member of the Syrian American Council, said: “After passing the House, the bill now returns to the Senate because there are amendments to the budget unrelated to Syria and concerning other matters. Therefore, there may be another Senate vote on the budget as a whole, not specifically on Syria. The repeal will then proceed automatically and reach the U.S. President’s desk for final signature.”
