Washington, SANA-U.S. Senate Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Republican Rand Paul have introduced a bill repealing the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019.
A statement issued by the two senators and published on the Foreign Relations Committee website: “This legislation reflects a growing recognition that while the Caesar Act achieved its goal of isolating the Assad regime, it now risks obstructing Syria’s path toward stability, democracy and reconstruction. Repealing the Caesar Act would end broad-based economic sanctions while preserving U.S. tools to hold Syrian officials accountable.
Commenting on the bill, Senator Shaheen said: “The Syrian people have a generational opportunity to write a new chapter for their country and the entire Middle East, “. “For too long, the brutal al-Assad dictatorship, propped up by our adversaries Iran and Russia, has ruled with an iron fist. And for too long, the Syrian people have endured a devastating civil war to rid themselves of this oppression. I look forward to working with U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack to support the Syrian people’s aspirations for democracy, stability and security.”
“For his part, Senator Paul said: For years, I’ve opposed broad sanctions that hurt innocent people more than the regimes they target. While the Caesar Act was intended to isolate the al-Assad regime, it has ended up punishing everyday Syrians—fueling poverty, crippling recovery, and blocking progress toward peace. 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,”.
Nawal /Manar Salameh
