Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson: No new date or venue has been set for the meeting between Araghchi and Witkoff, and no negotiations will take place until the outcome is guaranteed
Palestinian platforms: Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under the protection of the occupation police
Palestinian platforms: The IOF detonated a booby-trapped robot east of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Syrian Defense: We call on all parties in Sweida to cooperate with security forces and exercise restraint
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted

Activists file application, urge lifting UK 'cruel' sanctions on Syria

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 22 Jun 2023 16:16
  • 4 Shares
4 Min Read

Activists urge the UK to lift unilateral sanctions against Syria, warning that they are further exacerbating the suffering of Syrians, most notably following the devastating earthquake.

  • x
  • Six-year-old Musa Hmeidi, a Syrian child who was pulled out alive from under the rubble of a collapsed building on February 10, 2023. (AFP)
    Six-year-old Musa Hmeidi, a Syrian child who was pulled out alive from under the rubble of a collapsed building on February 10, 2023 (AFP)

A Palestinian-British academician specializing in International Relations and Political Communication and the Director of the European Centre for the Study of Extremism in Cambridge in the UK, Makram Khoury-Machool, in addition to several British-Arab citizens, filed an application to the High Court in England seeking permission to proceed to a Judicial Review following the refusal of the UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development, James Cleverly, to lift the "cruel and unnecessary sanctions imposed on the Syrian Arab Republic for the last 11 years."

In a press release, the activists acknowledged that the sanctions have added to the suffering of innocent civilians in Syria following the devastating earthquake of February 2023. At the time, several Western countries mobilized rapidly to send aid and rescue workers to Turkey but excluded Syria, leaving it to its own fate.

Due to the war that weakened the infrastructure in Syria, the draconian Western sanctions imposed on the country, the US occupation of some Syrian land, as well as the looting of billions of dollars of its resources, Syria was unable to fully respond to the tragic catastrophe. As a result, the number of victims of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake rose dramatically.

As the catastrophe unfolds in front of the whole world's eyes in #Syria, one can't help but notice how the #West deliberately chose not to help the catastrophe-stricken country. pic.twitter.com/f5cOYM0JAB

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 7, 2023

The more than 400-page application was sealed last week, and the petitioners served their court documents on the attorneys for the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, as per the press release.

The applicants, in their application, slammed the UK’s sanctions relating to Syria and implemented via the "Syria  Regulations" 2019 as unlawful and ensured that their implementation is inconsistent with the UK’s domestic and international obligations.

The applicants also said the impact of the UK’s sanctions on Syrian civilians breaches the rights of the applicants under the European Convention of Human Rights 

Related News

Tensions ease in Sweida as all detainees released amid mediation

Fierce clashes breakout in Syria's Sweida, leading to displacement

In addition, they called on the UK government to lift all unilateral sanctions imposed on Syria without authorization of the UN Security Council and not justified in accordance with international law, as per the press release.

In this context, the UN Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures and human rights Alena Douhan, called on November 10, 2022, for the lifting of all such unilateral sanctions.

On his part, the leader of the group that filed the application to the High Court, Dr. Makram Khoury-Machool, said, “As British citizens, we very much appreciate the existence of the separation of powers in the United Kingdom and the ability of the judiciary to scrutinize our government’s actions. Submitting this application is part of our strong belief in the British judiciary and in line with our civic and moral duties," adding that they are proposing the cessation of sanctions against Syria in the wake of the devastating earthquakes that hit the country.

In his August 2018 report to the Human Rights Council, UN expert on coercive unilateral measures, Ambassador Idriss Jazairy, wrote that "despite the efforts to implement "smart" sanctions with humanitarian exemptions, the application of current sanction regimes have contributed to the suffering of the Syrian people."

Other UN voices have recently been raised to the same effect, including Professor Alena Douhan, Ambassador Jazairy Jazairy's successor as UN Special Rapporteur on Unilateral Coercive Measures and Human Rights, and Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria. 

At this highly crucial moment, we need to act morally, within the realm of international humanitarian law and minimize suffering as a matter of urgency, the activists expressed in their statement, reiterating a call to every state, government, and international NGO - directly and through the UN Secretary-General - to urge all governments imposing sanctions on Syria to have them lifted immediately.

"This is vital to ease the rapid and effective delivery of international aid to the Syrian people," the activists affirmed.

“The maintenance of UK sanctions in the face of the appalling suffering we are now seeing after the earthquake will intensify an already dire humanitarian situation, and do nothing at all to assist Syria's journey to stability, security, reconstruction, and development," Dr. Khoury-Machool concluded.

The US, UK, and European Union have been imposing expansive and complex batches of draconian sanctions against Syria-- a country bearing the scars of 12 years of brutal war, exacerbating the people's suffering, most notably after the catastrophe, for the past three decades.

  • Syria
  • Sanctions on Syria
  • UK
  • earthquake

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS