Whereas:

• Over 50,000 people in Syria and Türkiye were killed and 100,000 injured by devastating earthquakes;
• Syria was already ravaged by 12 years of war;
• UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, Alena Douhan, condemned sanctions on Syria as “suffocating” in 2022 and called for their “immediate lifting”. She stated: “No reference to good objectives of unilateral sanctions justifies the violation of fundamental human rights. The international community has an obligation of solidarity and assistance to the Syrian people”;
• The Syrian Arab Red Crescent (2023), which has been entrusted by the Government of Canada to distribute its aid in Syria, also “appeal[ed] for the lifting of the economic embargo”.
• The United States has suspended some of its sanctions on Syria, in response to the earthquake. “However, [UN experts] wish to recall that such systems of humanitarian carve-outs may not be sufficient to address the long term negative effects of sanctions, as well as business over-compliance with sanctions and financial de-risking” (UN, 2023).
• Clare Daly (2023), Member of the European Parliament, cautions “thousands more may die” if the embargo against Syria does not end.

The McMaster University Graduate Students Association calls upon the Government of Canada to immediately end sanctions against Syria, urge other sanctioning states to follow suit, and amplify its aid and rescue efforts to all in the region.