President, Excellencies,
Thank you for providing this space for a voice from Syrian feminist civil society.
My name is Rola Roukbi. As a daughter of the city of Hama, I carry with me the memory of one of the largest mass atrocities committed by the former regime against Syrians, when government forces killed approximately 30,000 civilians in February 1982.[1]
I am here today as the Country Director of Women Now for Development-Lebanon. For fourteen years, our work has been guided by one central principle: change must begin from the bottom and reach the top.
After years of war, repression, displacement and loss, many Syrians welcomed the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024 with joy and hope — hope that it would bring an end not only to war, but also to authoritarianism, fear and exclusion.
Since power has changed hands in Syria, the most important question is: what kind of state are we building after this change? Are we building a state in which every Syrian feels that they are equal citizens? Are we building institutions governed by law, or are we recreating a similar system under a new name?
We have serious concerns about excessive centralization, the absence of an effective separation of powers, and the lack of clarity around governance, transparency and accountability, alongside the deteriorating economic situation. Syrians still do not clearly know how decisions are made, by whom, or how those decision-makers can be held accountable.
And this is where one of the greatest risks of the transition lies: that we change the people in power without changing the way power is exercised. A genuine transition means building a new relationship between the state and its citizens — one in which the rule of law applies to and protects everyone equally.
Excellencies,
Syrian women have paid an enormous price throughout the conflict.[2] They have endured displacement,[3] poverty,[4] violence,[5] detention and disappearance,[6] and continue to bear the brunt of the ongoing humanitarian crisis[7] alongside entrenched legal and social discrimination.[8] Despite this, Syrian women have played a leading role in documenting human rights violations,[9] providing aid to their communities,[10] and advocating for justice and accountability, including for missing persons.[11]
While at the international level, we see positive efforts by the Syrian transitional authorities to recognize the important role of women, for instance, in the context of the search for missing persons, women still find themselves at the margins when it comes to decisions about the country’s future at home.[12]
For instance, women’s representation in parliament is less than 11 per cent,[13] and only one member of the transitional cabinet is a woman.[14] But this is not only about numbers. Meaningful participation means women being present where decisions are made — not only where photographs are taken.
Women’s rights and personal and civil liberties are also not issues that can be deferred, including reform of nationality and personal status laws,[15] stronger protections against gender-based violence,[16] and removing Syria’s reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).[17] A state that does not recognize women as full and equal citizens cannot be democratic, regardless of what its political system is called.
Reports of the abduction of women and girls since December 2024, particularly from the Alawite community, are deeply alarming.[18] Targeting women because of their sectarian identity, or using violence against them to take revenge or instill fear in their communities, perpetuates precisely the patterns of violence that Syria must overcome.
This brings me to transitional justice. Syria needs justice that does not select its victims.
For decades, Syrians were subjected to violations, including arbitrary detention,[19] torture[20] and enforced disappearance,[21] by the former regime. Civilians also suffered abuses at the hands of non-state armed groups and other actors.[22] But violations did not end with the fall of the regime.
Today, people continue to be arbitrarily detained for expressing opinions.[23] We hear troubling reports of torture and ill-treatment in detention facilities,[24] including, most recently, the death of former White Helmet Mohammad Ghamira following alleged torture while in detention.[25]
Violence on the Syrian coast[26] and in Sweida[27] involving security forces and local armed groups has also led to serious violations, including killings of civilians[28] and sexual and gender-based violence,[29] some of which have taken on sectarian and retaliatory dimensions targeting Alawite[30] and Druze[31] communities, alongside a rise in hate speech targeting different Syrian communities.[32]
Victims of the former regime have the right to truth and justice. Victims of non-state armed groups and other actors have the same right. So do victims of violations committed since December 2024. A victim is a victim, and a violation is a violation, regardless of who committed it.
If the new Syria is built on a distinction between victims who deserve justice and those who can be ignored, we will be planting the seeds of the next conflict. Genuine reconciliation must be built on truth, recognition, accountability, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence.
Excellencies,
Rebuilding Syria is not only about rebuilding roads and homes. It is about rebuilding trust: trust between citizens and the state, trust among Syrians themselves, and trust that the law exists to protect people rather than becoming a weapon against them.
Return to Syria must also be voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable. It must be linked to social protection and reconstruction that serves people — including support for those who have lost their homes and the development of cooperative and social housing — so that return does not simply mean moving from displacement into poverty and insecurity.
The UN also bears a fundamental responsibility. We recognize the necessity of engaging constructively with the Syrian transitional authorities and working with them. However, international support for the political transition must be linked to clear benchmarks on human rights, the rule of law and accountability. The desire for stability in Syria should not lead to the acceptance of shrinking civic space, restrictions on freedoms or selective justice and accountability. We have learned, at an enormous human cost, that stability built on fear and silence is not peace. It merely defers the next crisis.
Excellencies,
I conclude with four recommendations to the Security Council and the UN:
First, human rights, including women’s rights, must be at the center of the UN’s evolving role in Syria. Human rights, civic space, women’s full, equal, meaningful and safe participation, accountability and the rule of law must remain integral to the UN’s political engagement with the Syrian transitional authorities, and must be central to any new UN presence in Syria.
Second, maintain strong and independent human rights scrutiny. Council members should continue to support independent UN human rights and accountability mechanisms and encourage the Syrian transitional authorities to ensure full cooperation and effective access.
The UN should also continue to follow accountability processes concerning violations on the Syrian coast and in Sweida, emphasizing transparency, compliance with international standards and responsibility at all levels, including command responsibility.
Third, help protect and expand Syria’s civic space. The space that Syrians have today to organize, speak and engage publicly remains fragile.[33] The UN should continue to monitor restrictions on freedom of expression,[34] association and peaceful assembly,[35] and regulations on political parties,[36] as well as arbitrary detention and reprisals against journalists, human rights defenders and civil society actors,[37] including women.[38]
Fourth, press for rights-based institutional and security-sector reform. This should include effective checks and balances on executive power, judicial independence, independent civilian and institutional oversight of security institutions, transparent vetting and clear chains of command. International engagement and support should help ensure that new institutions do not reproduce old patterns of unchecked power or allow individuals credibly implicated in serious violations to exercise authority without scrutiny or accountability.
At the same time, we urge the Syrian transitional authorities to engage fully with independent civil society and relevant UN mechanisms to translate these principles into action.
Excellencies,
The question that must remain at the heart of every discussion about Syria is: how do we prevent the return of the conditions that led to war?
The answer begins with a state that protects human dignity and freedom; a state in which women are full and equal citizens, not guests at the decision-making table; a sovereign state in which young Syrians can find a future instead of fear, weapons or migration; and a system of justice that respects every victim, regardless of who they are or who committed the violation against them.
And I believe it is not too late. We still have an opportunity to build a Syria in which people do not fear the state, but trust it to protect them; a Syria that has room for all its children and does not allow what they have endured to be repeated.
This is the transition that all Syrians deserve. And this is the peace that can last.
Thank you.
Photo: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
[1] Syrian Network for Human Rights, “Hama Massacre of 1982: The Need to Uncover the Truth and Achieve Justice for the Victims,” 2 February 2026, https://snhr.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/R260110E.pdf.
[2] Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic [hereinafter “Syria COI”], “Gendered Impact of the Conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic on Women and Girls,” 12 June 2023, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/coisyria/policypapersieges29aywar/2023-06-12-Gendered-impact-women-girls-%20Syria.pdf.
[3] Women Now For Development, “Position Paper on Perspectives of Forced Displaced Syrian Women on their Conditions, Rights, and Demands,” 28 April 2021, https://women-now.org/position-paper-on-perspectives-of-forced-displaced-syrian-women-on-their-conditionsrightsand-demands-pdf/; UN Women, “Unpacking Gendered Realities in Displacement: The status of Syrian refugee women in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq,” December 2018, https://arabstates.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2018/12/unpacking-gendered-realities-in-displacement.
[4] Ayse Ergene, Nihal Eken and Zach Pittman, “Women And War in Syria: Gendering of the Syrian Civil War,” Orion Policy Institute, 27 June 2025, https://orionpolicy.org/women-and-war-syria/;
[5] UNFPA, “Voices from Syria 2025: Assessment Findings of the Humanitarian Needs Overview,” pp. 66-67, 14 October 2025, https://syria.unfpa.org/en/publications/voices-syria-2025-assessment-findings-humanitarian-needs-overview; UNFPA, “Advocacy Brief: An Overview of Gender-Based Violence in Syria, 2025,” 23 June 2025, https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/advocacy-brief-overview-gender-based-violence-syria-2025; Statement by Ms. Mariana Karkoutly at the UN Security Council Open Debate on Sexual Violence in Conflict,” 13 April 2022, https://www.womenpeacesecurity.org/resource/statement-mariana-karkoutly-security-council-open-debate-sexual-violence-in-conflict/; Syria COI, “‘I lost my dignity’: Sexual and gender-based violence in the Syrian Arab Republic,” 8 March 2018, A/HRC/37/CRP.3, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoISyria/A-HRC-37-CRP-3.pdf.
[6] Syrian Network for Human Rights, “Fourteenth Annual Report on Enforced Disappearances in Syria,” p. 7, 30 August 2025, https://snhr.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/R250818E.pdf [noting that at least 9,201 women were arbitrarily detained or forcibly disappeared in Syria between March 2011 – August 2025]; Syria COI, “‘Web of Agony’: Arbitrary Detention, Torture, and Ill-Treatment by former Government forces in the Syrian Arab Republic,” ¶274-284, 27 January 2025, A/HRC/58/CRP.3, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session58/A-HRC-58-CRP-3.pdf; Syrian Network for Human Rights, “Unshakeable Voices: Syrian Women Who Overcame the Trauma of Detention and the Tribulations Following Their Release,” 19 February 2024, https://snhr.org/blog/2024/02/19/unshakable-voices-syrian-women-who-overcame-the-trauma-of-detention-and-the-tribulations-following-their-release/.
[7] UNCHR, “Comprehensive Overview of IDPs and IDP Returns Dashboard,” 13 August 2026, https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/123713; UN Women, “Update on Women, Peace and Security in Syria,” pp. 5-6, 30 April 2026, https://knowledge.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2026-05/IEG-meeting-2026-04-30-Syria-update-en.pdf; Sarah Easter and Becca Mountain, “In Syria, women and children carry the burden when the funding is cut,” CARE International, 20 March 2026, https://www.care.org/news-and-stories/syria-cash-assistance-women-headed-households-2026/.
[8] Women Now for Development, “Joint Submission for the UPR of Syria,” pp. 7-11, 22 January 2022, https://women-now.org/joint-submission-for-the-upr-of-syria/; WILPF, “The human rights of women in Syria: Between discriminatory law, patriarchal culture, and the exclusionary politics of the regime,” 2020, https://www.wilpf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/The-human-rights-of-women-in-Syria-single-pages.pdf.
[9] Women Now for Development, “Joint Submission for the UPR of Syria,” pp. 7-11, 22 January 2022, https://women-now.org/joint-submission-for-the-upr-of-syria/.
[10] CARE, “Meet the women leading Syria’s fight for survival and recovery,” 14 February 2025, https://www.care.org/news-and-stories/women-leading-survival-and-recovery-in-syria/;
[11] Anna Fleischer, “Gender impact of enforced disappearances in Syria,” pp. 4-7, International Catalan Institute for Peace, May 2020, https://www.icip.cat/perlapau/en/article/gender-impact-of-enforced-disappearances-in-syria/?pdf.
[12] Mona Abboud, “Syrian women are not political decor,” Syria in Transition, 30 November 2025, https://www.syriaintransition.com/en/home/opinion/syrian-women-are-not-political-decor; Alaa Al-Muhammad, “New Faces, Old Barriers: Women Locked Out of Syria’s Transition,” WILPF, 14 November 2025, https://www.wilpf.org/new-faces-old-barriers-women-locked-out-of-syrias-transition/.
[13] Women comprise 22 of 206 members of the People’s Assembly (10.7%), 15 of whom were appointed in July 2026 by the President. Briefing to the UN Security Council by Deputy Special Envoy Claudio Cordone, 21 July 2026, S/PV.10199, https://docs.un.org/S/PV.10199; See also UN Women, “Update on Women, Peace and Security in Syria,” pp. 2-3, 30 April 2026, https://knowledge.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2026-05/IEG-meeting-2026-04-30-Syria-update-en.pdf.
[14] UN Women, “Update on Women, Peace and Security in Syria,” p. 2, 30 April 2026, https://knowledge.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2026-05/IEG-meeting-2026-04-30-Syria-update-en.pdf.
[15] Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, “Legal Atlas on Gender Discrimination in Nationality Laws – Syria,” accessed 19 August 2026, https://legal-atlas.equalnationalityrights.org/; Syrian Feminist Lobby, “Position Paper on the Situation of Women in Syria and the Requirements for the Transitional Period,” p. 5, 14 August 2026, https://syrianfeministlobby.org/en/2026/08/14/position-paper-on-the-situation-of-women-in-syriaand-the-requirements-for-the-transitional-period/; The Syrian Observer, ‘’Syrian Nationality Law’ Conference Examines Discrimination Against Women and Risks of Statelessness,” 31 March 2026, https://syrianobserver.com/society/syrian-nationality-law-conference-examines-discrimination-against-women-and-risks-of-statelessness.html; Lina Ghoutouk, “Wives of the Disappeared in Syria: Voices in Legal Limbo,” Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, 10 December 2025, https://timep.org/2025/12/10/wives-of-the-disappeared-in-syria-voices-in-legal-limbo/;
[16] Syrian Feminist Lobby, “Position Paper on the Situation of Women in Syria and the Requirements for the Transitional Period,” pp. 6-7, 14 August 2026, https://syrianfeministlobby.org/en/2026/08/14/position-paper-on-the-situation-of-women-in-syriaand-the-requirements-for-the-transitional-period/; Syrian Arab News Agency, “Syria’s Justice minister says domestic violence bill awaits parliamentary approval,” 2 August 2026, https://sana.sy/en/syria/2333581/.
[17] Syria has reservations to: Article 2; Article 9, paragraph 2; Article 15, paragraph 4; Article 16, paragraphs 1(c), (d), (f) and (g); Article 16, paragraph 2; and Article 29, paragraph 1. United Nations Treaty Series, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, pp. 9-10, accessed 15 December 2025 https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/MTDSG/Volume%20I/Chapter%20IV/IV-8.en.pdf.
[18] Syrian Feminist Lobby, “The Abduction of Syrian Women: A War on Dignity,” 15 July 2026, https://syrianfeministlobby.org/en/2026/05/21/report-the-abduction-of-syrian-women-a-war-on-dignity/; Syrians for Truth & Justice, “Abduction in Syria: Alawite Women Most Targeted Amidst Transitional Government Inaction,” 23 February 2026, https://stj-sy.org/en/abduction-in-syria-alawite-women-most-targeted-amidst-transitional-government-inaction/; Amnesty International, “Syria: Authorities must investigate abductions of Alawite women and girls,” 28 July 2025, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/07/syria-authorities-must-investigate-abductions-of-alawite-women-and-girls/.
[19] Syria COI, “‘Web of Agony’: Arbitrary Detention, Torture, and Ill-Treatment by former Government forces in the Syrian Arab Republic,” 27 January 2025, A/HRC/58/CRP.3, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session58/A-HRC-58-CRP-3.pdf.
[20] Syria COI, “‘No End in Sight’: Torture and ill-treatment in the Syrian Arab Republic 2020-2023,” 10 July 2023, A/HRC/53/CRP.5, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/coisyria/A-HRC-53-CRP5-Syria-Torture.pdf.
[21] Syrian Network for Human Rights, “Fourteenth Annual Report on Enforced Disappearances in Syria on the Occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances,” 30 August 2025, https://snhr.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/R250818E.pdf.
[22] Syria COI, “Ten Years After the Yazidi Genocide: UN Syria Commission of Inquiry Calls for Justice, Including Accountability and Effective Remedies, for ISIL Crimes,” 3 August 2024, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/coisyria/report2024/coi-syria-position-paper-02-08-2024.pdf.; Syria COI, “Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic,” ¶67-118, 9 February 2024, A/HRC/55/64, https://docs.un.org/en/a/hrc/55/64;
[23] Amnesty International, “Syria: Suspend Use of Assad-era Cybercrime Law Pending Reform,” 24 July 2026, https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/syria-suspend-use-of-assad-era-cybercrime-law-pending-reform/.
[24] Syrians for Truth & Justice, “Syria: Alarming Evidence that Torture Persists and the Machinery of Violence Is Being Rebuilt after Assad (June 2025-June 20260,” 13 August 2026, https://stj-sy.org/en/syria-alarming-evidence-that-torture-persists-and-the-machinery-of-violence-is-being-rebuilt-after-assad-june-2025-june-2026/.
[25]NBC News, “A detainee’s death revives Syria’s memories of torture and abuse in prisons,” 17 August 2026, https://www.nbcnews.com/world/syria/detainees-death-revives-syrias-memories-torture-abuse-prisons-rcna593042.
[26] Syria COI, “Violations against civilians in the coastal and western-central regions of the Syrian Arab Republic (January-March 2025),” 11 August 2025, A/HRC/59/CRP.4, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session59/a-hrc-59-crp4-en.pdf.
[27] Syria COI, “International human rights law and international humanitarian law violations committed during the July 2025 violence in Suwayda, Syria,” 27 March 2026, A/HRC/61/CRP.7, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session61/a-hrc-61-crp-7.pdf; Human Rights Watch, “Syria: Accountability Lacking for Sweida Abuses,” 15 January 2026, https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/01/15/syria-accountability-lacking-for-sweida-abuses; Human Rights Watch, “Syria: Abuses, Humanitarian Emergency Amid Sweida Clashes,” 22 July 2025, https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/07/22/syria-abuses-humanitarian-emergency-amid-sweida-clashes.
[28] Syria COI, “International human rights law and international humanitarian law violations committed during the July 2025 violence in Suwayda, Syria,” ¶62-71, 27 March 2026, A/HRC/61/CRP.7, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session61/a-hrc-61-crp-7.pdf; Human Rights Watch, “‘Are you Alawi?’ Identity-Based Killings During Syria’s Transition,” 23 September 2025, https://www.hrw.org/report/2025/09/23/are-you-alawi/identity-based-killings-during-syrias-transition.
[29] Syria COI, “International human rights law and international humanitarian law violations committed during the July 2025 violence in Suwayda, Syria,” ¶89-94, 27 March 2026, A/HRC/61/CRP.7, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session61/a-hrc-61-crp-7.pdf; OHCHR, “Syria: UN experts alarmed by attacks on Druze communities, including sexual violence against women and girls,” 21 August 2025, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/08/syria-un-experts-alarmed-attacks-druze-communities-including-sexual-violence; Syria COI, “Violations against civilians in the coastal and western-central regions of the Syrian Arab Republic (January-March 2025),” Annex II, Section I(Q), 11 August 2025, A/HRC/59/CRP.4, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session59/a-hrc-59-crp4-en.pdf.
[30] Syrians for Truth & Justice, “Left to Their Fate: Grave Violations Against Alawites Following Massacres,” 28 October 2025, https://stj-sy.org/en/left-to-their-fate-grave-violations-against-alawites-following-the-coastal-massacres/; Human Rights Watch, “‘Are you Alawi?’ Identity-Based Killings During Syria’s Transition,” 23 September 2025, https://www.hrw.org/report/2025/09/23/are-you-alawi/identity-based-killings-during-syrias-transition; Syria COI, “Violations against civilians in the coastal and western-central regions of the Syrian Arab Republic (January-March 2025),” 11 August 2025, A/HRC/59/CRP.4, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session59/a-hrc-59-crp4-en.pdf.
[31] Amnesty International, “Syria: New investigation reveals evidence government and affiliated forces extrajudicially executed dozens of Druze people in Syria,” 2 September 2025, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/09/syria-new-investigation-reveals-evidence-government-and-affiliated-forces-extrajudicially-executed-dozens-of-druze-people-in-suwayda/.
[32] Syrians for Truth & Justice, “Syria: The Hate Speech and Disinformation Accompanying the Suwayda Massacres,” 20 August 2026, https://stj-sy.org/en/syria-the-hate-speech-and-disinformation-accompanying-the-as-suwayda-massacres/; Syria COI, “International human rights law and international humanitarian law violations committed during the July 2025 violence in Suwayda, Syria,” Annex II, Section J, 27 March 2026, A/HRC/61/CRP.7, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session61/a-hrc-61-crp-7.pdf; Concluding remarks by Paulo Pinheiro, Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, to the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee in New York, 30 October 2025, https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2025/11/concluding-remarks-paulo-pinheiro-chair-independent-international?sub-site=HRC.
[33] Femena, “Syria in Transition: Women Human Rights Defenders, Civic Space, and Gender Justice,” July 2026, https://femena.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Syria-in-Transition-Report.pdf; DW Akademie, “New study: Gender-based violence online in Syria,” 19 March 2026, https://akademie.dw.com/en/safer-platforms-stronger-participation-mapping-impacts-drivers-and-responses-to-gender-based-violence-online-in-syria/a-76398807.
[34] The Syrian Observer, “Hashtag Forced to Suspend Operations in Syria Amid Press Freedom Concerns,” 25 August 2026, https://syrianobserver.com/society/hashtag-forced-to-suspend-operations-in-syria-amid-press-freedom-concerns.html; Human Rights Watch, “Submission to the Universal Periodic Review of Syrian Arab Republic,” pp. 8-9, 16 July 2026, https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2026/07/UPR54_Syria_HRW.pdf; Syrians for Truth & Justice, “Syria: Joint Statement on Restrictions on the Use of the Kurdish Language in Public Space,” 11 May 2026, https://stj-sy.org/en/syria-joint-statement-on-restrictions-on-the-use-of-the-kurdish-language-in-public-space/.
[35] Human Rights Watch, “Submission to the Universal Periodic Review of Syrian Arab Republic,” pp. 9-10, 16 July 2026, https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2026/07/UPR54_Syria_HRW.pdf; The Syrian Observer, “Peaceful Damascus Sit-In Disrupted by Attacks, Rights Group Says,” 22 April 2026, https://syrianobserver.com/syrian-actors/peaceful-damascus-sit-in-disrupted-by-attacks-rights-group-says.html.
[36] The Syrian Observer, “On the Necessity of a Political Parties Law as a Prelude to Democracy in Syria,” 22 June 2026, https://syrianobserver.com/syrian-actors/on-the-necessity-of-a-political-parties-law-as-a-prelude-to-democracy-in-syria.html.
[37] Amnesty International, “Syria: Suspend Use of Assad-era Cybercrime Law Pending Reform,” 24 July 2026, https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/syria-suspend-use-of-assad-era-cybercrime-law-pending-reform/.
[38] Femena, “Syria in Transition: Women Human Rights Defenders, Civic Space, and Gender Justice,” pp. 5, 12, 17, July 2026, https://femena.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Syria-in-Transition-Report.pdf.