Global Justice Syria News – Syrian News – Berlin:
Over the course of two consecutive days, representatives of the Syrian community in the Federal Republic of Germany held dialogue sessions under the auspices of the Syrian Negotiation Commission in Berlin. The sessions focused on key issues, including the challenges facing the Syrian cause and their impact on the political process, the required elements of transitional justice in the political process, and mechanisms for cooperation between the Syrian Negotiation Commission and Syrian civil society in Germany.
The head of the Syrian Negotiation Commission, Dr. Bader Jamous, provided a comprehensive briefing on the commission’s political and negotiation tasks, its objectives, structure, and the main roles of its components, offices, and committees. He discussed the commission’s work at both international and local levels and the strategies that can be developed in collaboration with civil society groups and key actors.
Jamous also spoke about the commission’s relationships with influential countries, both Arab, regional, and international, and its clear and firm stance on the political process under Resolution 2254 and other international decisions. He summarized meetings held on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly last month and highlighted the importance of the commission’s partnerships with civil society organizations, political figures, media professionals, and research centers across various regions in Syria, including regime-controlled areas and the diaspora, to develop practical strategies that strengthen the Syrian cause on the international stage.
He addressed the decline in international interest in the Syrian issue amid the increasing global crises and domestic problems within countries. Jamous stressed the commission’s efforts to keep the Syrian political solution a priority for these nations and to protect the rights of refugees while warning countries of the dangers and futility of normalizing relations with the Syrian regime. He also emphasized the regime’s continued refusal to accept a political solution and its attempts to marginalize the Syrian opposition, seeking support from its allies to undermine political solutions, including Resolution 2254, the constitutional committee, and negotiations.
Jamous also discussed the commission’s efforts to engage with civil society, unify visions and policies, and collaborate on shared work. He elaborated on the work of the election committee and the participation of civil society experts in it, as well as the detainees and forcibly disappeared committee, which is leading international efforts to release all Syrian detainees in regime prisons and uncover the fate of the forcibly disappeared.
In a special statement to Global Justice Syria News, Jamous said, “We are working to support the efforts of Syrian communities in the European Union and the United States, and we are seriously striving to enhance their roles as lobbying groups to defend the Syrian cause.” He added, “We cannot work alone, without political, legal, and specialized support from civil society organizations. We share visions, ideas, and concepts with them to avoid operating as a closed club.”
In the session titled “Universal Jurisdiction and How to Utilize It in the Political Process,” participants included Joumana Seif, Ibrahim Shaheen, and Fadwa Mahmoud, with Alice Mufrej moderating. They discussed war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Syria, the stance of international law on these issues, and reviewed international experiences in this field. They explored how Syrians can benefit from these experiences to activate international trials, accountability, and transitional justice, support victims, release arbitrarily detained individuals, and uncover the fate of the forcibly disappeared. The session also emphasized the importance of documentation and the Negotiation Commission’s ongoing efforts to keep this issue active in the United Nations and internationally.
Discussions also covered the work of detainee family associations, their persistence in documentation, and their continuous demands for the release of detainees and the uncovering of the forcibly disappeared. Participants highlighted the need to push accountability cases as far as possible internationally and to pursue lawsuits in European courts. The importance of cooperation between the Negotiation Commission and civil society groups specialized in detainee and forcibly disappeared cases, transitional justice, and accountability within the political solution was also stressed.
In another session, titled “Mechanisms of Cooperation between the Syrian Negotiation Commission and Syrian Civil Society in Germany,” participants included Malek Al-Abda, Lina Wafai, Maria Al-Abda, and Hataf Qassas, moderated by Alice Mufrej. They discussed the importance of Syrian civil society organizations and their roles, the Syrian feminist movement, and its networking with both official and unofficial Syrian political forces. The session also addressed key issues concerning Syria’s future, such as the form of the state, the governance system, the electoral system, women’s rights, sources of legislation, economic development, and women’s political participation. It also stressed the importance of networking with Syrians in the diaspora and forming genuine communities represented by individuals who advocate for them, in coordination with the Syrian Negotiation Commission, Syrian political opposition forces, and civil society organizations in host countries.
There was also a focus on the importance of the Syrian Negotiation Commission building bridges with Syrian civil society, which has been a priority over the past two years, and attempts to institutionalize the relationship between the commission and civil society groups. The commission aims to collaborate, share visions, strategies, and fundamental goals, while respecting the independence of all parties and promoting free and constructive dialogue. The goal is to work together to achieve common objectives, each using its most effective methods, in order to create a unified voice for Syrians in pursuit of the Syrian cause and a political solution.
The “Syrian Independence Alliance” (SIA) participated in the consultative meeting in Berlin, represented by Global Justice Syria News editor-in-chief Ibrahim Al-Jabin. In his intervention during the session “Universal Jurisdiction and How to Utilize It in the Political Process,” Al-Jabin highlighted the role of the “Syrian Independence Alliance” in pursuing perpetrators and defending detainees, particularly through the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), which has worked on the case of former Deir ez-Zor governor Samir Al-Sheikh in the United States. SETF has made extensive efforts to engage witnesses and facilitate the presentation of evidence in coordination with U.S. authorities and prosecutorial bodies.
The “Syrian Independence Alliance” (SIA) is a coordination and cooperation network that spans from within Syria to Turkey, Europe, and the United States. It was launched in early September by an invitation from the Syrian American Initiative, represented by Global Justice, the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), the Civilization of the Euphrates Organization in the U.S., the Syrian Road to Freedom, My Justice World organizations in Turkey, the Damascus Studies and Development Organization, the Syrian National Bloc, the Syrian National Movement, the Arab Democratic Alliance, and several organizations providing legal and professional advisory support in specialized fields.
