On 7 March, 2022, Dominica and the Syrian Arab Republic signed a communique establishing diplomatic relations. Signing for Dominica was Ambassador Loreen Bannis-Roberts, Permanent Representative of Dominica to the United Nations, and for Syria, Ambassador Bassam Sabbagh, Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic. As of today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not released any information about this agreement.
The United Workers Party (UWP) deplores the establishment of diplomatic relations with Syria and calls for an immediate reversal of that abhorrent decision which has exposed Dominica to the contempt and ridicule of the civilized world. Diplomatic relations with Syria can only be considered by Dominica if and when Syria reaches an amicable multi-party resolution of its civil conflict.
We note with dismay that the Government of Syria has a most egregious human rights record, and bears responsibility for a civil war spanning 12 years which has resulted in more than 500,000 deaths, and displacement of 13 million Syrians. For us, the most heinous act of the Syrian regime was its use of chemical weapons on its own citizens for which it should have received the unanimous condemnation of the entire UN Security Council in 2017. Unfortunately, Russia and China exercised their veto power to prevent unanimous Security Council punitive action against Syria.
The agreement establishing diplomatic relations between Syria and Dominica makes reference to the universal ideals in the Charter of the United Nations. But it is abundantly clear that the Syrian Arab Republic has no respect for the Charter and is willing to violate its provisions with impunity.
Syria is one of the four States that joined the Russian Federation in voting, on February 28, 2022, against the Draft Resolution of the Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Ukraine following the military invasion by the Russian Federation. By supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Syria gives no credence to Article 2 of the United Nations Charter which states:
“All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.”
The United Workers Party is of the view that the Dominica Government’s establishment of diplomatic relations with Syria is an act of desperation driven by questionable connections to the brutal regime of Bashar Al-Assad and the operation of Dominica’s Citizenship By Investment (CBI) Program in Syria.
Given the current scrutiny which the CBI Program has attracted in the European Parliament and in the United States Congress along with attendant planned measures to remove visa-free access to the Schengen Area of Europe, the diplomatic relationship with Syria will only contribute to further isolation and blacklisting of Dominica in the international community.
