From right in the first row: Minister of Justice: Mazhar Al-Wais, Minister of Defense: Murhaf Abu Qasra, President of the Republic: Ahmed Al-Sharaa, Minister of Foreign Affairs: Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani, and Minister of Interior: Anas Khattab (Aljazeera)
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Fadel Abdulghany
After reviewing in the first part of this article the general framework of the Syrian Network for Human Rights’ vision for transitional justice in Syria, including the historical and political background and the four pillars of transitional justice, namely accountability, truth and reconciliation, reparation, and institutional reform, in this second part we will address the remaining pillars of this vision in greater detail.
In this part, we highlight the practical requirements for reforming state institutions, examine the importance of international support and cooperation, and discuss the potential challenges that may face this vital path toward building a new Syria based on justice, dignity, and human rights.
Seventh: Institutional Reform
Institutional reform is the fourth and fundamental pillar of transitional justice in Syria, and it is essential to ensuring that violations are not repeated in the future. During decades of Assad regime rule, key state institutions, particularly the judiciary, security, and military, were transformed from tools for serving citizens into means of oppression and rights violations. Therefore, rebuilding these institutions on sound foundations is a necessary condition for restoring citizens’ trust in the state and achieving sustainable stability.
- Judicial reform is the cornerstone of transitional justice and requires comprehensive restructuring, beginning with freeing the Supreme Judicial Council from the dominance of the executive branch by separating the presidency of the council from the presidency and establishing an independent judicial body with full powers to administer judicial affairs.
This requires reformulating the Judicial Authority Law to prohibit any executive interference in judicial affairs, guarantee the financial and administrative independence of the judiciary, and activate the role of the Supreme Constitutional Court. Special courts that have been used as tools of repression must also be abolished, and their powers integrated into the ordinary judiciary, while ensuring the application of fair trial standards, strengthening the rights of the defense, and developing mechanisms for appeal, review, and judicial oversight of the enforcement of judgments.
To ensure the integrity and competence of judges, objective criteria for appointment and promotion based on merit must be established, the material conditions of judges and court staff must be improved, and continuing training programs and the digitization of judicial work must be strengthened. The role of the Bar Association and independent judges’ associations should be activated, and cooperation with international human rights organizations should be established to provide periodic reports on the state of the judiciary, train personnel, and monitor trials.
The restructuring of the security apparatus requires a radical transformation of its structure and philosophy, as the previous regime created multiple security agencies with overlapping powers that were directly subordinate to the president and involved in serious violations. First, the number of parallel security agencies must be reduced, agencies with similar functions must be merged, informal formations must be dissolved, and clear laws must be established that define the powers of each agency and ensure its accountability.
It is necessary to abolish the judicial powers of the security agencies, dismantle informant networks, establish an independent civilian oversight body, and strengthen the role of parliament in supervising their performance. The security doctrine must also be changed to focus on protecting the security of the state and its citizens rather than the ruling regime, eliminating the culture of hostility toward citizens, and developing ongoing training programs on human rights and technical skills.
All forms of torture and abuse should be criminalized, and independent channels should be established to investigate citizens’ complaints. With regard to recruitment, criteria of competence and integrity should be adopted in the selection of security leaders, away from political or sectarian loyalties, while improving salaries and benefits to reduce corruption.
- The integration of armed factions and the establishment of a unified national army pose a major challenge to stability and state reconstruction. A comprehensive political and legal framework must be established that includes clear legislation for restructuring and integrating factions according to professional standards, excluding those involved in war crimes or serious violations, and ensuring the inclusiveness of the process by accepting individuals from all sides who are not involved.
This requires the establishment of an independent evaluation committee to audit records and a central database of armed factions and their members, with programs to regularize the status of individuals not involved in serious violations. Programs for demobilization and civilian reintegration should be developed, including vocational training, employment opportunities, and psychological and social support.
Human resources should be redistributed fairly across regions, military formations should be neutral, human rights awareness should be promoted, military curricula should be updated, and training standards should be unified. It is necessary to reorganize the military leadership to represent all components of the Syrian people, establish transparent mechanisms for promotions, and consolidate a culture of national unity, while controlling the possession of weapons and destroying internationally prohibited weapons. To ensure oversight and accountability, an independent oversight body and specialized military courts must be established, and reforms must be periodically evaluated, with the benefit of international technical assistance.
- The success of institutional reform requires enhancing transparency and accountability at all levels through the development of an integrated system that includes: the establishment of independent oversight bodies for each institution; the activation of parliament’s role in overseeing the performance of public institutions; the establishment of binding codes of conduct for workers in sensitive sectors; the development of laws that protect whistleblowers of corruption and violations; and the establishment of effective complaint mechanisms with guarantees for their prompt handling.
- Official institutions should also be required to publish periodic reports on their performance and expenditures, make information available to the public in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, and activate the role of civil society organizations and the media in monitoring state institutions. In addition, objective and periodic performance evaluation systems for officials and employees should be developed, appointments and promotions should be linked to competence and integrity, and technology should be leveraged to enhance transparency and reduce corruption. At the cultural level, a societal culture that believes in the role of civil oversight and encourages citizens to contribute to institutional accountability should be promoted, while strengthening cooperation with international organizations specializing in good governance and anti-corruption.
Eighth: International support and cooperation
International support and cooperation play a pivotal role in promoting transitional justice in Syria, providing technical assistance, financial support, and legal mechanisms that ensure accountability for those responsible for serious violations. This cooperation contributes to supporting victims and rebuilding institutions on a fair basis, and is urgently needed given the complexity of the Syrian situation, the unprecedented scale of violations, and the weakness of local resources. In addition, international coordination ensures the effective implementation of transitional justice mechanisms, promotes compliance with international human rights standards, and helps build the capacity of national institutions, thereby contributing to sustainable national reconciliation and restoring stability to the country.
Specialized international mechanisms are essential pillars for supporting the transitional justice process in Syria. Among them is the Independent International Impartial Mechanism (IIIM), established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2016, which is tasked with collecting, analyzing, and preserving evidence of serious violations of international law in Syria.
The National Transitional Justice Commission can cooperate with it by exchanging documents and data and drawing on the case files it has prepared to support the work of the proposed special court. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) also provides technical support for capacity building of local actors, with the possibility of drawing on its expertise in developing transitional justice frameworks that focus on victims’ rights.
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria (COI), established in 2011, provides independent documentation and analysis of violations that can support the work of truth commissions and the special tribunal. The Independent Institution for Missing Persons (IIMP), established in 2023, addresses the issue of missing persons in Syria and provides support to their families by creating a comprehensive database in collaboration with local committees.
International human rights organizations provide valuable support to transitional justice efforts in Syria. Organizations such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International have documented human rights violations in Syria throughout the years of conflict, providing a rich archive that can be used as evidence to support the work of truth commissions and the special tribunal.
These organizations can also monitor the work of the transitional justice body and provide advice and training to ensure its compliance with international standards. For its part, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) has extensive experience in dealing with issues of missing persons and mass graves in complex contexts. This expertise can be leveraged to expand efforts to collect data on missing persons, contribute to revealing their fate using advanced techniques such as DNA analysis, and provide psychological support to their families.
International judicial cooperation is essential to achieving comprehensive justice, especially as many of those responsible for serious violations have fled Syria.
Mechanisms for such cooperation include: exchanging information and evidence with international and foreign courts hearing cases related to human rights violations in Syria; taking advantage of universal jurisdiction, which allows states to prosecute perpetrators of international crimes regardless of where they were committed; ratifying the Rome Statute or accepting the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court under Article 12 (3), concluding bilateral and multilateral agreements for the extradition of wanted persons, and training local judicial personnel on international trial standards.
To ensure the effectiveness of this cooperation, a specialized unit should be established within the transitional justice body to coordinate with international mechanisms, work on building a joint database of violations and suspects, and participate in international cooperation networks to combat impunity.
Ninth: Potential Challenges and Ways to Address Them
The transitional justice process in Syria faces multidimensional challenges that require comprehensive strategies to address them. At the political and security levels, it is difficult to achieve national consensus on transitional justice mechanisms given the sharp political polarization. The continued presence of armed groups with multiple allegiances also poses a major challenge to stability and the implementation of justice programs, as these groups may resist criminal accountability efforts for fear of being held accountable.
Resistance from remnants of the former regime and its supporters is an obstacle to institutional reform, particularly in the security and judicial sectors. In addition, conflicting regional and international interventions are an obstacle to progress in the justice process, as external forces seek to secure their interests at the expense of Syrian independence.
To address these challenges, strategies could include: promoting inclusive national dialogue; building consensus on transitional justice priorities; implementing an integrated plan for disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration; building international coalitions in support of transitional justice; and activating protection mechanisms for victims and witnesses.
Economically and financially, Syria is suffering from a comprehensive economic collapse and dilapidated infrastructure, which limits the resources available to implement transitional justice programs. Documentation, trials, compensation programs, and reconstruction require enormous financial resources that may exceed the state’s capacity. Syria faces difficulty in prioritizing spending between transitional justice requirements and the urgent basic needs of the population.
International sanctions and restrictions on financial transfers also pose obstacles to the financing of transitional justice projects. To address these challenges, it is proposed to establish an international fund to support transitional justice programs, prioritize projects with a dual impact on economic recovery and justice, seeking alternative sources of funding such as the recovery of looted assets and the confiscation of funds of those involved in violations, and developing partnerships with the private sector and civil society to support rehabilitation and reintegration programs.
Lack of trust and social divisions pose a fundamental challenge to transitional justice, as years of conflict have deepened sectarian, ethnic, and political divisions, complicating the reconciliation process. The loss of trust in state institutions, particularly security and judicial institutions, has made it difficult for citizens to accept any reforms led by these institutions.
Differences in understanding the concept of justice among the various components of Syrian society may also cause conflicts over the priorities and paths of transitional justice. The spread of a culture of revenge and individual retribution contributes to hindering institutional justice efforts, as evidenced by the increase in individual acts of revenge since the fall of the regime.
The psychological effects of war trauma and violations are an obstacle to engagement in reconciliation processes. To address these challenges, the following strategies are proposed: Designing comprehensive awareness campaigns on the importance of transitional justice as an alternative to revenge, ensuring the representation of all community components in transitional justice institutions, promoting transparency at all stages of the process, supporting community reconciliation initiatives, and developing psychological and social recovery programs for victims and those affected.
To overcome the above challenges, integrated strategies can be adopted, including: Adopting a gradual and phased approach to the implementation of transitional justice, with a focus in the first phase on meeting the needs of the most affected victims and building trust. Developing a comprehensive national plan for transitional justice with the participation of all stakeholders, setting out objectives, mechanisms, and timeframes; Strengthening national ownership of the transitional justice process while drawing on international expertise, with Syrians playing the leading role and international support and oversight; Develop an effective monitoring and evaluation system to track progress in the implementation of transitional justice programs and make necessary adjustments; and build the capacity of national institutions and civil society in the field of transitional justice through specialized training programs.
In addition, lessons can be learned from the experiences of countries that have gone through similar circumstances, taking into account the specificity of the Syrian context, and providing safe spaces for dialogue and discussion on transitional justice issues among different components of society. International support remains a fundamental pillar, with the need to coordinate efforts and unify visions among supporting parties, and to allocate sufficient resources to ensure the sustainability of transitional justice programs.
Conclusion
Transitional justice is a national necessity for Syria, which today stands at a historic crossroads after the fall of an authoritarian regime that lasted for more than half a century. It is not a luxury or an option, but a prerequisite for addressing the legacy of grave violations that left millions of victims and displaced persons and caused enormous destruction to the country’s physical and social infrastructure.
The importance of transitional justice lies in the fact that it is the most effective approach to comprehensive recovery from the effects of conflict and to laying solid foundations for a state based on the rule of law and respect for human rights. Through its four pillars—criminal accountability, truth and reconciliation, reparations and compensation, and institutional reform—transitional justice can contribute to dismantling structures of tyranny and oppression, rebuilding trust between citizens and the state, preventing the recurrence of violations, and achieving national reconciliation that paves the way for sustainable stability.
The success of the transitional justice process requires a collective commitment from all parties concerned to achieve non-retributive justice, focusing on reform and recovery rather than revenge and retribution. It must be recognized that transitional justice is not a means of revenge against opponents, but rather an integrated framework aimed at addressing the roots of conflict and repairing the social fabric. This requires a balanced approach that combines the necessary accountability of those primarily responsible for violations with opportunities for reconciliation and integration for those less involved.
It also requires broad participation by victims, civil society, national institutions, and the international community in building a shared vision of justice that takes into account the needs and aspirations of all Syrians. Transitional justice is not a path imposed by one party on another, but rather a participatory process based on open dialogue, transparency, and inclusivity, taking into account the specificity and complexities of the Syrian context.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights’ vision for transitional justice represents a roadmap for the future of Syria: a homeland based on justice, dignity, and the rule of law. This is the new Syria that Syrians of all stripes aspire to, a state where citizens live in dignity and security, their rights and freedoms are protected, and their choices are respected.
A Syria that transcends its past of tyranny and oppression to embrace a future based on equal citizenship, political participation, and cultural pluralism. Although the road to this Syria is long, arduous, and fraught with challenges, the existence of a strong national will and determination to move forward on the path of transitional justice makes this goal achievable.
Ultimately, transitional justice is not the end of the road, but the beginning of a long process of transformation toward restoring the Syria that its people deserve: a Syria of justice, democracy, development, and peace.
