OUR Switzerland decided today to temporarily weaken sanctions who imposed on Syria in order to facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance in this country after the devastating earthquake on February 6, following the position USA And her European Union.

Until now, humanitarian organizations receiving money from the Swiss Confederation for their activities on Syrian soil could be exempted from sanctions for financial transactions necessary to provide humanitarian assistance or support to the civilian population.

Today, the government clarified in a statement that it has decided to expand “humanitarian exemptions to facilitate humanitarian activities in Syria, in particular the humanitarian response to the February 6, 2023 earthquake,” without specifying how long the measure will last.

Switzerland, home to many organizations involved in humanitarian action such as the World Health Organization, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, now allows “the direct or indirect donation of property or financial resources of a person, organization or business authorized by humanitarian organizations receiving funds from the Confederation.

For “humanitarian actors” who do not receive contributions from the Confederation, there is a special permitting regime for the provision of financial resources to individuals, companies and organizations under sanctions, “to enable the implementation of humanitarian action or the provision of assistance to the civilian population.” Syria,” the statement said.

The Syrian earthquake death toll is approaching 6,000, already devastated by the civil war that has raged since 2011, which has killed nearly half a million people, displaced millions and damaged infrastructure.

The earthquake claimed the lives of 45 thousand people in Turkey.

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP, Reuters.}