The German World Hunger Relief has called for the lifting of sanctions in the context of efforts to rebuild Syria. “The country urgently needs international support, which also includes the lifting of international sanctions” said the organization’s general secretary, Mathias Mogge, to the “Rheinische Post” (Thursday edition) at the end of his one-week trip to Syria.
“It’s very hard to get money into the country right now. People who have fled from Syria to Europe or Turkey can no longer transfer money to their relatives” Mogge said. “Trade is not getting back on track as long as the sanctions remain in place. Of course, the lifting of sanctions should be conditional, for example, on the respect of human rights or the inclusion of various religious and ethnic groups.”
The World Hunger Relief now plans to expand its activities in the country. “Until now, we were primarily active in the border region with Turkey” the general secretary of the organization said. “We want to open an office in Damascus and from there expand our activities to other locations, where there is a particularly great need.”
From the so-called “Rebuilding Conference” in Paris on Thursday, he hopes that international efforts will be coordinated. “All countries should work together, so that it does not come to a fragmentation of international engagement – if, for example, the Gulf states, Turkey and the European Union do something entirely different” Mogge said. “Even within the European Union, countries should coordinate.