Syria’s new government faces a crucial opportunity to break with a legacy of grave human rights violations

Justice for victims of mass enforced disappearances remains one of the most urgent human rights challenges in Syria today

After the fall of the Assad government, tens of thousands of families hoped their missing loved ones would return. Instead, almost none reappeared - their fate still unknown, their absence a deepening tragedy

‘Delaying justice will only heighten the risk of further bloodshed such as the recent mass killing of Alawite civilians in the coastal areas of Syria’ - Kristine Beckerle

Syria's new government must take immediate concrete steps towards justice, truth and reparation that address the country's devastating legacy of abuses and urgently undertake human rights-based reform to prevent further violations, Amnesty International said today.

Between 2011 and 2024, Amnesty documented widespread crimes under international law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity and gross human rights violations, committed by Bashar al-Assad's government. Amnesty also documented serious crimes committed by government allies, including Russia, as well as by armed groups opposing the government and their ally Turkiye, and the Kurdish-led de facto authorities and their allies.

The new transitional government, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa and formed on 29 March, has a crucial opportunity to break with the past and ensure these atrocities never occur again.

Amnesty has today outlined the priority steps that the authorities should take to achieve this and to comply with Syria’s obligations under international law.

On 14 April, Amnesty sent the recommendations to the Syrian authorities, requesting answers to a series of questions and updates on the authorities’ plans, but have not received a response to date.

Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:

“To ensure a break with the past, the Syrian government must uphold the rights to truth, justice and reparation for all people in Syria.

“The authorities have publicly committed to taking justice demands seriously, and key to keeping this promise will be ensuring the meaningful participation of survivors, victims and Syrian civil society organisations throughout the process, as well as maximum transparency.

“The challenges facing Syria are immense, but ensuring accountability for crimes committed by all warring parties, providing reparation to victims and their families, implementing human rights-based reforms to Syria’s criminal justice and security sectors, and ensuring the families of the disappeared know the truth of what happened to their loved ones are foundational to building a new, more just Syria.

“It is crucial for the authorities to rebuild trust between the people in Syria and the state. Delaying justice will only heighten the risk of further bloodshed such as the recent mass killing of Alawite civilians in the coastal areas of Syria.

“It is essential that the authorities, without any delay, ensure that all those suspected of criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and enforced disappearance are brought to justice in fair trials before ordinary civilian courts, in accordance with international law.”

For decades, the former government systematically arrested and disappeared activists and human rights defenders, oppressed local human rights organisations and denied international human rights organisations access to the country. The new authorities have pledged a new approach; it is crucial that they allow Syrian and international organisations to work without interference, consult with Syrian civil society, and grant unfettered access for local and international organisations.

The authorities are grappling with major economic challenges resulting from a decade-long conflict, compounded by international sanctions and the widespread destruction of infrastructure.

The international community must support the Syrian people in their pursuit of truth, justice and reparation, and building a more just future after years of suffering.

While many countries continue to support critical justice efforts for Syria, others have added to its challenges. The United States haphazardly cut foreign funding to those providing crucial humanitarian aid and doing critical human rights work in Syria in early 2025. Since former government’s fall, Turkiye and Israel have also carried out air strikes, killing and wounding civilians and damaging civilian infrastructure.

Provide justice, truth and reparation

One of the most urgent issues in Syria today is justice for victims of mass enforced disappearances. After the fall of the Assad government on 8 December 2024, tens of thousands of families hoped their missing loved ones would be released. Instead, nearly none re-emerged; many seemingly vanished.

While the government announced a National High Commission for Missing Persons on 27 February, representatives of family associations of the disappeared and missing told Amnesty they had not been consulted on the formation of the body and how it would function and have seen no tangible progress five months after the Assad government’s collapse. The new government must immediately rectify this by ensuring full, meaningful inclusion of victims and their representatives in shaping the Commission’s mandate, operational framework, and oversight mechanisms.

Article 49 of the Constitutional Declaration, adopted on 13 March, establishes a Transitional Justice Commission, tasked with adopting “victim-centred mechanisms…to determine accountability mechanisms, the right to know the truth, and justice for victims and survivors in addition to honouring martyrs”.  Effective truth, justice and reparation processes must be based on nationwide consultations with Syrians, particularly survivors and victims.

The government must also create reparation programmes informed by survivors and victims' families that deliver comprehensive remedies that acknowledge victims' suffering and help rebuild lives. The Syrian government should also seek reparations from states such as Russia, Türkiye and the US, and other actors, including businesses, that are responsible for human rights violations.

Undertaking human rights-based reforms

For over a decade prior to the former government’s fall, Amnesty documented systemic violations, including arbitrary arrest, torture, and enforced disappearances, committed by former law enforcement officers and intelligence services, and within the prison system. In addition, Amnesty has documented abduction, torture and summary killings by former non-state armed groups, some now integrated into the ministry of defence and ministry of interior.

As an immediate priority, and to prevent a repeat of violations and cycles of violence, Syrian authorities must ensure rigorous vetting of all government officials, military leaders, and other appointed figures suspected of criminal responsibility, including post-Assad crimes - such as the massacres of Alawite civilians on the coast. Amnesty documented unlawful killings, including deliberate targeting of civilians from the Alawite minority, which must be investigated as war crimes, on Syria’s coast in March. Syria’s new authorities have taken an important first step toward investigating the killings by establishing a dedicated fact-finding committee. How they proceed will serve as an important signal and a key precedent.

Reform should also involve repealing laws that are not compliant with international law and enacting legislation that safeguards the human rights of all people, including their rights to a fair trial, truth, justice and reparation; freedom from torture and disappearance, equality and non-discrimination, including in the context of the rights to housing and property. Any reform committee should be accessible, inclusive, and participatory.