Categories: Daniel Serwer

The fight for justice in a post-Assad Syria

Colleagues at the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) have posted this statement welcoming the fall of the Assad regime and looking ahead to a just outcome:

Thirteen years ago, SJAC began preparing for the day after the fall of the Assad government, with the steadfast belief that Syrians would someday have an opportunity to pursue meaningful justice and accountability for the crimes committed against them and to build a state that respects the rights of all Syrians.

Over the past decade, our team in Syria and across the diaspora have collected over two million pieces of documentation of the conflict, conducted extensive investigations of international crimes, and laid the groundwork for comprehensive missing persons investigations. Now, at the start of the first week of a post-Assad Syria, our work has just begun.

In the coming weeks, SJAC’s team will be focused on collecting and preserving at-risk documentation from previously inaccessible, government-controlled areas while ensuring that Syrians have access to clear, impartial sources of information on the immediate justice challenges that will arise in the coming days. As the situation on the ground stabilizes, our team looks forward to working alongside Syrians from across the country to begin to design a meaningful transitional justice process.

While SJAC has long supported Syrian-led justice, the dream of a stable and peaceful Syria can only be achieved with the support of the international community. Over the past decade, as the conflict stalled, many states have withdrawn support for human rights and humanitarian efforts in Syria, while simultaneously disengaging in the peace process. Now, with the dream of a stable and peaceful Syrian at hand, we ask that the international community re-engage in Syria, both through robust funding for reconstruction and justice processes, as well as through political engagement.

As the political makeup of a post-Assad Syria evolves, the international community should reconsider sanctions and reassess Hayat Tahrir Al Sham’s designation as a terrorist organization. In a time of uncertainty, we also ask that host countries continue to provide safe asylum to Syrians around the globe. Syrians themselves will be best placed to assess when it is safe to return.

The future may be uncertain, but the SJAC team is excited to have the opportunity to work for justice and accountability in a post-Assad Syria.

Daniel Serwer

Share
Published by
Daniel Serwer
Tags: Syria

Recent Posts

Okay, but still a long way to go

Is this a revival of the 1920s and 1930s America that tried to limit immigration,…

10 hours ago

Hope is where the wild things are

Hope lies wherever the restraining and suffocating writ of the Trump Administration does not extend.…

3 days ago

America made a giant mistake

It will take more time for Americans to fathom the mistake they have made. But…

6 days ago

Serbia is going backwards

I received this plea today. The issues are not new but now the situation is…

2 weeks ago

Might doesn’t make right, but it’s winning

Trump can't get anything out of Putin because the American President has already given too…

2 weeks ago

Neither nothingburger nor whopper

Putin has weathered sanctions so far. And Trump shows no signs of taking advantage of…

3 weeks ago