Syria in Transition

About

Our work examines pathways to transitional justice in Syria through a focused, interdisciplinary approach. It brings together academic expertise, local knowledge, and policy innovation to contribute to Syria's transition towards justice and sustainable reform.

Project aims

The project aims to produce policy briefs for key stakeholders in transitional justice processes, academic publications in peer-reviewed journals, workshop reports and recommendations, digital verification reports on human rights violations, blogs and podcasts featuring diverse Syrian perspectives, and educational resources for practitioners and researchers.

Research streams

We concentrate on four core, interconnected areas:

• Documentation and evidence - Supporting the documentation of human rights violations through the Essex Digital Verification Unit and collaborating with Syrian civil society documentation initiatives. This work provides an essential foundation for accountability processes and creates a verified record of violations for future transitional justice mechanisms.
• Legal and constitutional frameworks - Working with Syrian legal experts to identify viable approaches to constitutional reform that address historical grievances while promoting equal citizenship and inclusive governance. Our approach emphasises exploring the perspectives and lived experiences of those affected by legal frameworks, ensuring reforms are grounded in real-world impact.
• Socioeconomic justice - Addressing often overlooked dimensions of transitional justice including housing, land and property rights, survival debt, employment, and education inequalities. This work aims to ensure that socioeconomic injustices are fully acknowledged and addressed within transitional justice processes.
• Community voices and reconciliation - Exploring diverse perspectives on justice and reconciliation, including through artistic and cultural expressions. This includes examining various forms of memorialisation adopted by communities, creating spaces for dialogue through partnerships with Syrian artists and cultural organisations, and ensuring the meaningful inclusion of marginalised groups across gender, ethnic, religious, and political lines.

Project outputs

• The Essex Human Rights Centre hosted a workshop titled “Perspectives on Transitional Justice in Syria: Voices from Academia, Civil Society, and the Arts”. It brought together Syrian artists, academics, and practitioners to explore how creative expression might support transitional justice in Syria. We published a blog and a report "Perspectives on Transitional Justice in Syria: Voices from Academia, Civil Society, and the Arts" about the event.
• Al Taweel, R. (2025). Responsibility to Protect and Syria’s Displacement: Unprotected at Home and Abroad. Global Responsibility to Protect (published online ahead of print 2025).