7/3/2025 Syria (International Christian Concern) — The White House this week announced the official easing of sanctions on Syria, a move that follows an in-person meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in May.

While some sanctions remain, the move signals a significant shift in U.S. policy despite concerns about Sharaa’s past ties to Islamist terrorism and its shaky record of protecting minorities in the first months of its rule.

Lifting sanctions on Syria is expected to increase foreign investment in the country, notably from its Arab neighbors who are reportedly eager to begin developing the country economically and have an interest in stabilizing what has long been a regional breeding ground for violence, radicalization, and illegal drugs.

Syria’s central bank and other financial institutions in the country are among those newly freed from U.S. sanctions. Lifting these will allow the country to participate in the international monetary system — a critical step if the country is to rebuild after decades of war.

Under this week’s announcement, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also instructed to examine whether his department should request that Congress repeal its 2019 Caesar Act sanctions package, a historic sanction imposed after evidence of severe human rights abuses in Syria was unearthed.

Sharaa took over the country in December of 2024, wresting control from longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad, who is currently living in exile in Russia. While the sanctions under consideration this week were directed at Assad’s regime, it is unclear what direction Sharaa plans to take the country in terms of respecting human rights and minority communities.

In his executive order this week, President Trump addressed these concerns.

“The United States is committed to supporting a Syria that is stable, unified, and at peace with itself and its neighbors,” he wrote. “A united Syria that does not offer a haven for terrorist organizations and ensures the security of its religious and ethnic minorities will support regional security and prosperity.”

These remarks are a departure from his meeting with Sharaa in May, during which he reportedly did not discuss the topics of human rights or religious freedom.

When the EU began lifting sanctions on Syria in February, it expressed that the continued lifting of sanctions was “part of the EU’s efforts to support an inclusive political transition in Syria, and its swift economic recovery, reconstruction, and stabilisation [sic].” In comments, EU leaders expressed continued concern about the health of Syria’s nascent democratic movement and the future of minority communities across the country.

The EU’s shift on sanctions was timed to coincide with a meeting of leaders from across Syria in which they laid out a basic framework for the country’s new governing order.

Despite early efforts to reassure minority communities, several high-profile incidents in recent months have shaken observers and suggested that the preservation of minorities may not be a high priority in the Sharaa administration.

Forces aligned with al-Sharaa’s new government recently killed more than a thousand members of the minority Alawite community, including hundreds of civilians and disarmed Alawite fighters, after members of the Alawite community launched a surprise attack on security forces. In June, a suicide bomber attacked a Christian church, killing at least 25 people and wounding more than 60 others.

Despite a peace agreement between Sharaa’s government and a semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the north, Turkey — Sharaa’s strongest foreign backer — has continued to bomb Kurdish-held areas. Turkey has long opposed the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, where the acting government has made efforts to protect religious minorities from persecution despite decades of pressure from Turkey to the north, militias to the west, and the Syrian national government to the south. The new government announced an interim constitution in March, presenting mixed prospects for human rights in the country.

Analysis of the constitutional declaration suggests that earlier rhetoric about respecting the rights of women and religious minorities has remained an essential pillar of the new government. In addition to provisions protecting religious freedom, other articles safeguard a range of human rights, including the right of women to access education and employment.

Still, the document concentrates power in the presidency and is explicit in its deference to Islamic law.

“The religion of the President of the Republic is Islam,” Article III declares, and “Islamic jurisprudence is the principal source of legislation.” This language is slightly starker than Syria’s previous constitution, which cited Islamic law as simply one source among others.

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