The US Treasury Department has rolled out new authorizations for nongovernmental organizations working in war-torn Syria, in a move designed to ensure aid agencies can deliver humanitarian assistance without running afoul of existing US sanctions. 

In a statement Wednesday, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said NGOs are now permitted to engage in new investment in Syria; the purchase of Syrian petroleum products for use in Syria; and certain transactions with elements of the Syrian government. The department said those actions are authorized only for not-for-profit activities such as humanitarian projects and democracy-building. 

“The US government prioritizes expanding humanitarian access throughout Syria to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people,” said OFAC Director Andrea M. Gacki. "The US remains committed to ensuring that humanitarian assistance from the international community, including early-recovery-related humanitarian activities, reaches Syrian civilians."

The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, named for the defector who smuggled evidence of war crimes out of Syria, took effect in June 2020. The bipartisan US law allows for sanctions on anyone — Syrian or foreign — who provides assistance to the regime’s military operations or the country’s construction, engineering, energy or aviation sectors.