The United States has submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council to remove Syrian transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa from the sanctions list ahead of his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House next Monday.

The agency reported on Wednesday, November 5, that the U.S. draft would also lift sanctions on Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab, but “the vote timing is not yet clear.” Any resolution requires nine votes in favor and no veto from Russia, China, the United States, France, or the United Kingdom.

Reuters noted that the Council’s Sanctions Committee has granted al-Sharaa several travel exemptions this year, meaning he can likely visit the United States even if the resolution is not adopted before he meets with Trump.

According to the agency, these moves follow months of U.S. pressure within the Council to ease sanctions imposed on Syria.

Citing diplomatic sources, Al Jazeera Net reported on Wednesday, November 5, that the U.S. draft “welcomes Syria’s commitment to combating terrorism, including foreign fighters,” and affirms “Syria’s commitment to ensuring the protection, safety, and security of all Syrians.”

The text also underscores the Council’s adherence to “respecting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and promoting stability and development in the country.”

The sources added that Washington informed some member states of its desire to hold a vote before President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s anticipated visit to Washington and his meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House next Monday, with indications that a vote could take place today, Wednesday, or tomorrow, Thursday.

White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt said in her Tuesday, November 4, briefing that the Syrian president is scheduled to visit Washington on November 10 to meet the U.S. president at the White House.

Legal status

According to Al-Monitor, the Syrian president and his interior minister, Anas Khattab, require special UN approvals to travel by air to other countries.

Returning to the UN sanctions text imposed on al-Sharaa, he was added to the list in July 2013 under the identifier “QDI.317.”

The Council previously sanctioned al-Sharaa for links to al-Qaeda after he pledged allegiance to Jabhat al-Nusra leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, one of al-Qaeda’s founders and its second emir after Osama bin Laden.

Jabhat al-Nusra was listed on May 14, 2014, pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 3 of resolution 2083 (2012) as an entity associated with al-Qaeda, for participating in financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating acts or activities by al-Qaeda (QDe.004) and al-Qaeda in Iraq (QDe.115), or for participating in these acts with them or on their behalf or in their support, as well as for recruitment and any other forms of support for their acts or activities.

United Nations – Security Council Sanctions List

In January 2017, according to the Committee concerning al-Qaeda sanctions, “Jabhat al-Nusra” established “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” as “a means to bolster its position among Syrian insurgent movements and to advance its objectives as an affiliate of al-Qaeda in Syria.”

Although the emergence of “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” was described in various ways (for example, a merger with or a rebranding of Jabhat al-Nusra), it continued to assert dominance and, through HTS, pursued its goals, according to the UN statement accompanying the sanctions list.

The list contains the names of 254 individuals and 89 entities, including al-Sharaa. Under the governing legal text, delisting authority lies with:

• UN Security Council member states may submit at any time to the Committee (which oversees the sanctions) requests to remove the names of individuals and entities listed under the ISIL and al-Qaeda sanctions regime.
• Listed individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities: An applicant seeking delisting may do so directly, or through a representative, by contacting the Office of the Committee’s Ombudsperson.

Delisting requests should explain why the listing “does not or no longer meets the criteria for listing,” by contesting the reasons cited in that individual’s or entity’s entry on the list. They should also include information about the listed person’s current occupation or activities and any other relevant details.

There are two pathways for approving a delisting:

• If the request comes from a state that did not propose the listing, the Committee follows its usual decision-making procedures and decides by consensus.
• If the request comes from a state that did propose the listing, or if multiple states proposed it, then all concerned states submit a joint delisting request. In that case, the name is removed after a specified period, unless all 15 Committee members support keeping the name on the list, or unless the matter is referred to the Security Council for a decision.

Al-Sharaa to meet Trump at the White House next Monday