The State Department said on Friday, 30 August 2024, that the United States is placing restrictions on the visas of fourteen Syrian officials. Citing their involvement in enforced disappearances. The announcement claimed, “These restrictions are in addition to the 21 Syrian officials announced by Secretary of State Antony Blinken in March 2024 and December 2023.” As a means of handling its opponents, the Syrian government has allegedly “disappeared” more than 96,000 men, women, and children, according to the State Department.

Members of the South Sudanese government and others who have taxed humanitarian aid shipments to the country are also subject to the visa restrictions, the State Department announced on Friday. The country of South Sudan, where the civil war claimed hundreds of thousands of lives between 2013 and 2018, is suffering from one of the worst humanitarian crises in history due to ongoing conflict, natural disasters, and poverty. UN missions in the country have reported that South Sudanese authorities are delaying UN fuel tankers due to a tax dispute, endangering the delivery of millions of dollars in aid during a time of crisis.

Spokesman for the State Department Matthew Miller stated, “Despite assurances, the government has yet to effectively reduce the unacceptably high costs, bureaucratic obstacles, and risks of providing humanitarian assistance to South Sudanese people in need.”

In a statement, he said, “This raises questions about its willingness and capacity to abide by its 2018 peace agreement commitment to create an enabling environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and protection.” Due to the visa restrictions, the cited individuals would not be able to enter the United States.

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