The Swiss Federal Council has extended the humanitarian exemption to the sanctions system against the Syrian regime indefinitely, following a previous six-month extension.

The Council stated in a statement today, Wednesday, September 4th, that the extension came in light of the severe humanitarian crisis in Syria following the earthquake on February 6, 2023.

The exemption means that targeted financial sanctions do not apply to humanitarian activities by international organizations and certain categories of humanitarian actors, “providing the concerned humanitarian actors with a degree of predictability,” according to the Council’s statement.

The Swiss Federal Council is a governmental body responsible for setting the goals of the federal government’s policies and the means to achieve them, informing the public in a timely manner about its activities, making proposals to the parliament, issuing decrees containing executive provisions of parliamentary laws, in addition to several other tasks.

Temporary exemption

On February 21st, the Council announced the first extension of the temporary humanitarian exemption from sanctions against the regime for six months, continuing the previous exemption after the February 2023 earthquake.

The Council then said the exemption would end on September 12, 2024.

On March 10, 2023, the Swiss Federal Council included the temporary humanitarian exemption of the European Union in the ordinance on measures against Syria.

Switzerland previously adopted sanctions against the Syrian regime on May 18, 2011, announcing its adherence to the European Union measures adopted on the 9th of the same month, followed by several amendments to the ordinance on measures against the Syrian regime to align with EU decisions.

The sanctions included listing the Syrian Central Bank in the sanctions list, according to an annex adopted by the Swiss government, based on an accusation that it “provides financial support to the regime.”

In May 2023, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs announced the expansion of sanctions to include the cousins of the regime’s president, Bashar al-Assad, along with several entities, due to their involvement in smuggling Captagon drugs.

On May 28, the European Union extended its sanctions on the Syrian regime until June 1, 2025, while also extending the humanitarian exemption introduced in February 2023.

The European Union justified the extension by the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Syria, which has worsened after the February 2023 earthquake.

This decision includes the continued provision of humanitarian aid and other activities supporting basic humanitarian needs promptly, and increasing consistency across EU restrictive measures and those adopted at the UN level.