U.S. Treasury Did Not Just Extend the Caesar Act to Include NGOs
The Claim
The U.S. Department of Treasury has decided to expand the scope of the Caesar Act regarding sanctions on Syria to include nongovernmental organizations.
News posted on
Emerging story
News websites and social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter have recently circulated a story claiming that the U.S. Department of Treasury has just widened the scope of the Caesar Act relating to sanctions on Syria. The news alleges that the Act will now include NGOs to the list of entities and bodies under sanctions.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the alleged claim and determined it was fake after no evidence was found to support it. In fact, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has amended the Caesar Act to allow nongovernmental organizations to cooperate with Syrian government entities. According to a Nov. 24, 2021 press release by the U.S. Treasury, the goal is to “facilitate legitimate humanitarian activity while continuing to deny support to malicious actors.”
The press release stated that the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has amended the Caesar Act to “expand the authorizations for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) [sic] to engage in certain transactions and activities.”
This amendment, the press release added, “helps ensure the continued provision of humanitarian assistance, including certain early-recovery activities, that benefit the Syrian people.” The amendment takes effect this Nov. 26.
The Caesar Act is the umbrella name for a number of laws and legislation under which the U.S. government imposes sanctions on the Syrian regime. The law was passed by the US Senate in December 2019 and in June 2020 and entered into force under the Trump Administration.
According to the BBC, the law aims to increase the Assad government's financial, economic, and political isolation and force him to accept a political solution to the Syrian crisis based on Security Council Resolution 2254.
The Caesar Act included a paragraph related to humanitarian exemptions. The U.S. President has the right to suspend any of the law provisions concerning NGOs that provide humanitarian aid for periods renewed for no longer than two years.
Translated by: Ahmed N. A. Almassri
