SNHR proposes in its vision the establishment of a national transitional justice body that would constitute the main axis for implementing transitional justice programs (Shutterstock)
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Fadel Abdulghany
Sunday, December 8, 2024, marked a historic turning point in Syria with the announcement of the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the takeover of military operations, followed by the appointment of a temporary caretaker government.
This transformation comes after fourteen years of bloody armed conflict that began with the launch of a peaceful popular movement in March 2011, when Syrians took to the streets demanding freedom, dignity, and the establishment of a democratic state based on free and fair elections.
With the end of more than half a century of Assad rule, Syria faces enormous challenges that require laying new foundations for justice and civil peace. In this context, transitional justice emerges as a fundamental approach to transitioning from conflict to stability and state-building.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights has played a pivotal role in documenting violations on a daily basis since 2011. It has worked to build a comprehensive database of millions of incidents and has issued more than 1,800 reports and statements, including daily and monthly reports covering the years of conflict. These documents form a solid foundation on which any transitional justice process in Syria can be based.
According to documentation by the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the Syrian conflict has left a horrific toll of violations, including:
- The killing of at least 234,000 civilians, including 202,000 killed by Assad regime forces.
- 181,000 cases of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance, including 160,000 enforced disappearances by the regime, among them 3,736 children and 8,014 women.
- At least 45,336 people died under torture, including 45,031 at the hands of regime forces.
- Widespread use of destructive weapons, including the dropping of 81,916 barrel bombs, 217 chemical weapons attacks, 252 cluster munitions attacks, and 51 incendiary weapons attacks.
- Displacement and displacement of approximately 13.8 million Syrians, including 6.8 million internally displaced persons and nearly 7 million refugees outside the country.
These horrific statistics reflect the scale of the Syrian tragedy and highlight the urgent need to adopt a comprehensive transitional justice process that addresses this heavy legacy of violations, ensures that they are not repeated, and paves the way for building a new Syria based on justice, equality, and human dignity.
This is what the Syrian Network for Human Rights’ vision for transitional justice in Syria seeks to achieve. Released a few days ago, this vision is characterized by a comprehensive approach that seeks to address the root causes of the problems that Syria has suffered from for decades and to bring about a qualitative transformation in the structure of the Syrian state and its institutions.
In its vision, the Network proposes the establishment of a national transitional justice body that would serve as the main hub for the implementation of transitional justice programs and would be characterized by independence, comprehensiveness, and transparency.
The vision also emphasizes the need to apply the four pillars of transitional justice simultaneously and comprehensively, so that criminal accountability efforts are combined with truth-seeking, reparations programs, and institutional reform.
The vision pays special attention to broad community participation in the transitional justice process, with a focus on the role of victims and civil society organizations, and the importance of international cooperation as a key support for the process, while maintaining national ownership of the entire process.
In this article, we will attempt to examine a number of these aspects covered by the vision, with the intention of completing our discussion in a subsequent article.
1- The conceptual framework of transitional justice
Transitional justice in the Syrian context is a set of legal and non-legal mechanisms that aim to address gross human rights violations that occurred during the conflict, especially those committed by the Assad regime, in order to achieve justice for victims, hold those responsible accountable, and promote the path towards lasting peace based on law and human rights.
Transitional justice in Syria is based on four complementary pillars: First, criminal accountability, which is the cornerstone for establishing the rule of law and undermining impunity, with a focus on holding senior leaders involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity accountable.
Second, truth and reconciliation, which aims to document violations, determine the fate of the missing and forcibly disappeared (more than 160,000 people), and promote community reconciliation.
Third, reparation and compensation, which includes financial compensation for victims and their families, as well as programs for moral reparation and memorialization.
Fourth, institutional reform, particularly of the judiciary, security, and military, to ensure that violations are not repeated and to restore citizens’ trust in state institutions.
Transitional justice is a fundamental pillar for the success of the political transition in Syria, as sustainable stability cannot be achieved without addressing past violations and ensuring that they are not repeated. It paves the way for a political system based on the rule of law and accountability, which strengthens mutual trust between the state and society and opens the door to a new era based on pluralism and democracy.
It also contributes to addressing the root causes of the conflict and dismantling the systems of oppression and tyranny that have prevailed for decades, preventing the country from sliding into new cycles of violence.
2- Establishment of a National Transitional Justice Authority
The constitutional and legal framework for this authority is based on specific pillars, whereby the Legislative Council formed after the issuance of the Constitutional Declaration is responsible for drafting a founding law that regulates the transitional justice process.
This law shall be based on national and international laws, shall be consistent with international human rights standards, and shall include main chapters covering definitions and general principles, the structure of the commission, transitional justice mechanisms, and institutional reform.
The structure of the commission consists of a board of directors comprising legal experts and representatives of civil society and victims, and a general secretariat that acts as an executive body, including administrative, legal, financial, media, and technical teams.
The commission also has local offices in all Syrian governorates, an international relations department that coordinates with international bodies, and a monitoring and evaluation department.
The commission has broad powers, including summoning witnesses, collecting evidence, accessing official and private documents, investigating violations, and requesting the judiciary to issue arrest warrants, with all government entities required to cooperate with it.
To ensure the commission’s independence, the founding law clearly stipulates its complete independence from the executive branch, protecting it from political interference. The commission also has an independent budget approved by the legislative branch, ensuring that it is not financially dependent on the executive branch.
Despite its independence from the Ministry of Justice, the commission operates within the Syrian judicial system, undertaking the tasks of uncovering the truth, documenting violations, compensating victims, and contributing with the judiciary to the formation of a special court to hold perpetrators of serious crimes accountable.
The criteria for selecting commission members are based primarily on competence and integrity. Members must have extensive experience in the fields of human rights or law, with a clean record of no involvement in corruption or human rights violations.
Diversity and representation are also taken into account, so that the commission reflects the diversity of Syrian society in terms of gender, ethnicity, religion, and geographical background, with members required to be independent of political parties and various factions.
The appointment mechanism begins with the formation of a recommendation committee comprising independent experts and representatives of the judiciary, civil society, and victims to nominate proposed names. Ten of these are then elected to form the commission’s board of directors, which in turn appoints and selects the working group based on criteria of competence and experience, taking into account the representation of stakeholders in transitional justice, foremost among them the victims.
3- Criminal accountability
Criminal accountability is the cornerstone of the transitional justice process, playing a pivotal role in establishing the rule of law and undermining the policy of impunity that prevailed during Assad’s rule.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights has identified a clear approach to prioritizing accountability, focusing on senior leaders from the first and second echelons of the military and security services, as they are primarily responsible for planning and overseeing the implementation of violations.
This approach represents a realistic strategy for dealing with the logistical and financial challenges facing a comprehensive accountability process, while ensuring that victims have the opportunity to bring legal cases against those directly responsible for their suffering, regardless of their rank or position.
Achieving criminal accountability requires a special legal framework, given that previous domestic laws are not in line with international standards and lack clear provisions for addressing major crimes.
Therefore, the vision proposes the establishment of specialized legal committees composed of local and international experts to draft new criminal laws, including fundamental amendments such as: the inclusion of clear definitions of international crimes such as war crimes and crimes against humanity; the repeal of laws that provide immunity to officials; the development of legislation that allows for the retroactive prosecution of crimes; the establishment of laws that define the powers of courts tasked with examining serious violations; and the guarantee of legal protection for victims and witnesses.
The vision also calls for ratification of the Rome Statute or acceptance of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court under Article 12(3), allowing the court to investigate crimes committed since March 2011.
Fact-finding commissions play a pivotal role in gathering the criminal evidence necessary for accountability, by accessing security, military, and civilian institutions to collect files and documents that reveal the identities of detainees, forcibly disappeared persons, and victims of torture.
These institutions include security branches and prisons, civil registry departments, military and civilian hospitals, courts and judicial departments, and orphan care centers.
The commissions also analyze data, conduct field investigations, prepare detailed reports that include the results of investigations and identify those potentially responsible for violations, and make recommendations for reform and accountability.
These committees are based on the principles of independence, impartiality, cooperation with civil society organizations, transparency, and public participation, drawing on the expertise of local and international human rights organizations that have documented violations.
Given the Syrian judiciary’s loss of independence and limited resources, the vision proposes the formation of special mixed courts specializing in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
These courts are temporary judicial bodies that combine national and international elements, balancing local ownership with international standards. They are established on Syrian territory by the local judicial system in cooperation with international experts and are composed of trusted Syrian judges and lawyers and international experts.
These courts operate completely independently of the executive branch and are subject to civilian oversight by civil society organizations and the media, while operating within a local legal framework that respects international standards.
To prosecute officials who have fled the country, the vision proposes a set of international mechanisms, including: Requesting international cooperation based on international treaties such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption or extradition agreements; utilizing the principle of universal jurisdiction adopted by some countries, which allows them to prosecute perpetrators of international crimes even if they were committed outside their territory; and using bilateral and regional agreements to extradite wanted persons.
These mechanisms face multiple challenges, most notably the possibility that suspects will flee to countries that refuse to extradite them, the absence of a legal obligation for countries to extradite in the absence of agreements, and the slowness of international procedures.
To address these challenges, the Vision recommends strengthening international pressure, negotiating new bilateral extradition agreements, exerting economic and diplomatic pressure on countries harboring suspects, and presenting strong evidence against them before international courts.
4- Truth and Reconciliation
Revealing the truth is a fundamental pillar of the transitional justice process, as it contributes to addressing the legacy of violations and building societal trust, paving the way for national reconciliation.
Documenting violations and identifying their perpetrators is particularly important in the Syrian context for several reasons, most notably: uncovering the truth about violations and their societal impact, identifying those responsible, whether individuals or institutions, bridging societal rifts, and building a unified national memory.
This process requires collecting testimonies from all parties, including those implicated in violations. This helps understand the organizational structure of violations, construct a historical narrative, and relieve pressure on the judicial system, in addition to supporting reconciliation and societal healing.
To address the challenges along this path, the vision proposes implementing a conditional amnesty system for individuals who acknowledge their responsibility and provide valuable information, providing confidentiality options for testimonies, organizing controlled public hearings, and adopting a victim-centered approach.
Following the fall of the former regime and the opening of detention centers, the Syrian Network for Human Rights estimates that more than 160,123 individuals remain forcibly disappeared by the former regime, in addition to at least 16,898 forcibly disappeared by other parties to the conflict.
Uncovering the fate of these missing persons is a fundamental pillar of the truth process and requires the formation of specialized committees comprising experts in criminal investigations, forensics, geneticists, and anthropologists, as well as representatives from relevant international organizations such as the Independent Institution for Missing Persons (IIMP) and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).
These committees would work in cooperation with national authorities, human rights organizations, judicial bodies, and associations of victims and relatives of the forcibly disappeared, ensuring the inclusiveness and effectiveness of the process.
Mass graves constitute a key starting point for the work of committees searching for missing persons. Dozens of sites containing the remains of forcibly disappeared persons killed under torture were discovered after the fall of the regime. Steps to address these sites include: immediate protection as crime scenes; conducting systematic field investigations according to internationally recognized protocols; collecting forensic evidence to support investigations; accurately documenting data; conducting comprehensive investigations based on international standards; identifying victims using advanced techniques such as DNA analysis; and communicating continuously with the victims’ families, followed by handing over the remains for proper burial.
Truth commissions play a pivotal role in promoting community reconciliation, extending beyond criminal accountability to include local mechanisms that address grievances and build trust. These commissions oversee the formation of customary councils and reconciliation committees in Syrian governorates, comprising community leaders, leading figures, and religious figures. These committees work to resolve local disputes, restore rights, promote community reconciliation, ensure apologies and acknowledgement of responsibility, promote a culture of civil peace, and reintegrate those affected into society. The experiences of tribal communities in Syria, which have developed reconciliation mechanisms that include forgiveness, payment of blood money, and public confessions, can be useful.
This local accountability approach complements criminal accountability, encouraging less culpable perpetrators to confess and participate in redressing harms. This promotes restorative justice and contributes to building sustainable mechanisms for conflict resolution and preventing new cycles of retaliatory violence.
Reparations and Compensation Programs
Reparations and compensation programs are a vital component of the Syrian transitional justice process, addressing the massive harm caused by the conflict, documented by the Syrian Network for Human Rights. These include the killing of more than 234,000 civilians, the enforced disappearance of approximately 177,000 people, the death of more than 45,000 people under torture, and the displacement of approximately 13.8 million Syrians.
Mechanisms for financial compensation for victims and their families vary, including: direct financial grants disbursed in one lump sum or in the form of long-term stipends for widows and orphans; preferential services such as free healthcare and education; the restoration of property rights through specialized local committees to resolve property disputes; financing housing projects through grants or interest-free loans; supporting the economic rehabilitation of individuals; collective compensation programs for affected communities; compensation for lost income; and the rehabilitation of infrastructure in affected areas.
In addition to material compensation, the vision places great emphasis on moral reparation and memorialization programs, which help heal the wounds of victims, acknowledge their suffering, and restore their dignity. These programs include: psychological and social rehabilitation of victims; legal support to help them claim their rights; the establishment of major memorials in the most affected areas and smaller local memorials; the designation of national memorial days accompanied by public events and exhibitions; the establishment of museums and documentation centers displaying victims’ testimonies and photos; the development of digital archives; the naming of public spaces after victims; the organization of cultural events commemorating their memory; the encouragement of public apologies and recognition of sacrifices; the integration of the revolution’s legacy into educational curricula; and the organization of comprehensive commemoration processes involving victims’ families and civil society.
To implement these programs, the vision proposes the formation of specialized compensation and reparation committees, including government representatives, judges, human rights defenders, civil society representatives, representatives of victims and their families, and international consultants, to ensure the process is implemented in accordance with international standards.
These committees will identify the target groups for compensation, identify the types of compensable damages, establish mechanisms for assessing the extent of damage and appropriate compensation, design a compensation structure that includes individual, collective, and service-related compensation, and determine how compensation will be distributed within a specific timeframe.
To determine the value of compensation fairly, cooperation with the Special Criminal Court and the recommendations of truth commissions must be utilized. It is important to consult with affected communities, ensure respect for the dignity of survivors, and impose strict oversight mechanisms to ensure the integrity and transparency of the process.
Compensation programs face major challenges, most notably a lack of financial resources in light of the widespread economic devastation caused by the former regime. To address this challenge, the Vision proposes several strategies: establishing international partnerships with institutions such as the United Nations and the World Bank, adopting innovative financing mechanisms such as establishing a special trust fund, leveraging assets and funds confiscated from perpetrators of violations, seizing the assets of businessmen associated with the former regime, linking compensation to reconstruction projects, and encouraging local and international contributions. Programs also face other challenges, such as disparities in the distribution of compensation, legal complexities, and societal disputes. To address these challenges, the Vision recommends establishing clear and fair compensation standards, conducting a comprehensive damage assessment, enhancing transparency and victim engagement, diversifying compensation options, implementing a gradual and flexible approach, establishing specialized legal bodies, and implementing community dialogue programs to promote acceptance of the compensation process.
