The EU’S Approach to Mitigating the Impact of Sanctions on Humanitarian Assistance: A Case Study of Syria

In times of a significant expansion sanctions practice, the problem of their humanitarian damage in general and their destructive impact on the provision of humanitarian assistance to population of target countries in particular becomes especially acute. As an active initiator of restrictive measures and a leading donor of humanitarian aid, the European Union pays significant attention to the negative impact of restrictive measures on fundamental human rights and on humanitarian action in sanctioned environments. This study identifies the essence, logic and goals of the EU’s efforts to mitigate the negative impact of restrictive measures on the provision of humanitarian assistance to those in need using the example of Brussels’ policy towards Syria before and after the devastating 2023 earthquake. The paper examines the architecture of the EU sanctions policy and humanitarian assistance, shows the role and significance of humanitarian exceptions from sanctions regimes in EU policy and rhetoric. The author focuses on the Syrian case. Its study allows to identify the dilemmas of the EU sanctions policy towards Syria, the motives and tools for mitigating the impact of sanctions on the humanitarian situation in a country located in close proximity to the European southern borders. Particular emphasis is placed on studying the approach of the European Union, as the largest donor of aid, to minimizing the negative impact of restrictions on the provision of humanitarian assistance to Syria. A study of the European Union’s efforts in Syria shows the role of humanitarian exceptions from sanctions to mitigate the impact of restrictive measures on the provision of assistance, as well as their importance for achieving the political goals of the European Union and its international positioning.