Opinion: In the aftermath of devastating earthquake, it’s time to reconsider long-term sanctions on Syria
For most Americans and Europeans, news of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria has involved tragic images of death, destruction, and total loss. For others, like myself, who were forced to leave loved ones behind in Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War, the tragedy has been personal, deeply heartbreaking. As my family and I hear directly from those affected just how severely resources are lacking, I see the struggle to provide rescue teams and the urgency to connect with humanitarian organizations.
The aid comes in an unusual context, with barriers across multiple borders, physical, political and legal. For one thing, the devastation centers around regions already vulnerable due to the war in Syria–in Syria itself and in areas of Turkey such as Gaziantep wherehave made home during the conflict. The Turkish region, moreover, is a major center for the Kurdish population, one with a historically fraught relationship with the often-oppressive Turkish government.
International humanitarian law, the law that applies during armed conflicts like the one in Syria, requires governments to respect medical and other forms of humanitarian aid. This protection is a corollary of the prohibition against starvation as well as the rule that the sick and wounded must be collected and cared for. The United Nations and other organizations have adopted resolutions invoking this rule.
If Turkey and Syria have obligations under international law to ensure access to humanitarian relief, European and American governments – both active in the Syria conflict for over a decade – have at the very least moral obligations, if not human rights obligations, to provide support either directly or through the permanent alleviation of sanctions policies that may stand in the way of swift assistance.
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