UN Secretary-General calls for immediate and full lifting of sanctions on Syria

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on Sunday, at the conclusion of his visit to Syria, for the full and immediate lifting of sanctions imposed on the country during Bashar al-Assad’s rule, while simultaneously urging the international community to provide support for recovery efforts.

Guterres began his visit to Syria on Saturday, the first by a UN Secretary-General since Ban Ki-moon in 2009, more than a year and a half after new authorities led by Ahmed al-Sharaa took power following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.

Speaking at a press conference in Damascus, Guterres said, “I welcome the steps taken to ease sanctions and open new horizons for economic recovery, but all these sanctions should be lifted immediately.”

Since Assad’s fall, Western countries, the European Union, and the United States have lifted a significant portion of the sanctions imposed on Assad in response to the crackdown on protests that erupted against his rule in 2011, paving the way for reconstruction efforts.

The World Bank has estimated the cost of rebuilding Syria at more than $216 billion.

However, the flow of foreign capital and investments remains slow despite relative stability in the situation.

The UN Secretary-General considered that “the international community must meet Syria’s resolve with sustained political support, economic engagement, and practical assistance, as Syria needs to invest in its people, economy, and institutions.”

He added, “Syria needs support to restore basic services, rebuild infrastructure, and revive livelihoods.”

He believed that the country “needs development partners and international financial institutions to re-engage with it in a way that helps unlock its economic potential and reconnect it to regional and global economic life.”

During his two-day visit, Guterres met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaybani, other officials, representatives of civil society, and humanitarian workers. He also visited Saydnaya Prison, which had long served as a symbol of repression under Assad.

Guterres is the highest-ranking UN official to visit Damascus since Assad’s ouster, more than 13 years after a devastating conflict claimed the lives of more than half a million people.

The UN states that approximately 1.9 million internally displaced persons and 1.7 million who were abroad have returned to Syria since Assad’s fall, while around 5.5 million people remain internally displaced and another six million are outside the country. The number of people requiring humanitarian assistance is estimated at around 15.6 million.

On Sunday, Guterres said that Syria also needs help “to ensure the safe, voluntary, and dignified return of refugees and internally displaced persons.”