The conference was due to take place in Damascus but was cancelled by Syrian authorities [Getty]
Syrian civil society organisations have said they were forced to cancel a conference regarding transitional justice which was due to take place in Damascus on 27 February, following what they called a “surprising decision” by the interim government.
The Syrian Centre for Legal Studies and Research (SCLSR) and other organisations taking part issued a statement saying that Syrian authorities had banned the conference without offering any official justification, despite it being planned in coordination with them.
The conference was due to take place today under the title “Implementation of Justice in Syria and the role of International Bodies and Institutions”.
It was going to be attended by Syrian and international human rights groups, government agencies, and international organisations working on justice and documentation of crimes in Syria.
The Ministry of Justice of the new Syrian government was due to attend, as were representatives of the Foreign Ministry.
However, SCLSR said that the hotel where the conference was due to take place informed it that it had been banned without explaining why.
In a post on X, Anwar Al-Bunni, the head of the SCLSR, denounced the prohibition of the conference.
“We condemn this action which takes us back to the time of the criminal [Assad] regime, and we say that we refuse to return to the era of authoritarianism and repression. We will continue our work for justice and human rights,” he said.
The statement from the SCLSR said that the Justice Ministry had given its approval to the conference only to withdraw it later, for “unknown reasons”.
Many Syrian civil society groups which were originally set up in exile when the Assad regime was in power began operating in Syria following the rebel overthrow of Assad in December 2024.
On 17 February, the Free Syrian Lawyers’ Association held another conference focusing on transitional justice and human rights.
The conference focused on suspects who would face accountability under transitional justice, such as military figures accused of war crimes.
On 25 February, Syria held the first session of its National Dialogue Conference, which produced a concluding statement.
One of the points called for the achievement of transitional justice by calling to account officials responsible for crimes and violations during the Syrian conflict, while reforming the legal system.
