The US House of Representatives passed the Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act of 2019 to impose new sanctions on the Assad regime and its supporters one day after the European Union slammed new sanctions on individuals and entities directly linked to the regime.
According to US media reports, the legalization passed unanimously at a session of the US House of Representatives on Tuesday, with 55 deputies voting for the bill, 43 voting against, while the rest abstained from voting.
In comments he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday, President of the Syrian Coalition Abdurrahman Mustafa said: “The passage of the Caesar Act and the EU’s expansion of sanctions against the Assad regime are steps in the right direction and must be implemented effectively without further delay.”
“The US sanctions need to be coupled with judicial procedures to prevent impunity for those involved in violations and push towards a political solution in accordance with international resolutions and the Geneva Communique of 2012,” President Mustafa said.
The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2016 is an act drafted by the US Congress sanctioning the Assad regime. On November 15, 2016 it passed the House unanimously as The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act (HR 5732). It will allow the White House to sanction foreign persons and entities that engage with the Assad regime or its supporters.
The legalization includes a list of senior Assad regime officials, including Bashar Assad and his wife Asma, political security officials and military commanders in the air force and military intelligence as well as the Central Bank of Syria.
The move came one day after the European Union announced it was imposing new sanctions on Syrian businessmen and companies directly linked to the Assad regime, including a close associate of the regime.
The EU said its leaders met in Brussels and agreed to expand the list of sanctions against the Assad regime by adding 11 Syrian businessmen and five entities linked to the regime to the sanctions list. (Source: the Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
