Int’l groups see opportunity for ‘new page’ in Syria for human rights

People shop in a street in Damascus, on Dec. 10, 2024.

As several international organizations perceive a rare chance to pursue justice for the human rights atrocities committed during the rule of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Human Rights Watch has described the moment as "an opportunity to turn the page."

Syrian rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, more widely recognized by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, declared in a recent statement that he will dismantle the security apparatus of the previous regime and shutter its notorious detention centers.

The leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) had earlier vowed to pursue those culpable for acts of torture and other abuses.

Since the 2011 uprising that sparked the civil war, more than 100,000 people have died in Syrian prisons, often under torture.

About 30,000 people had been detained at Saydnaya, where detainees endured some of the worst torture, with only 6,000 released.

At long last, human rights organizations have a rare opportunity to access prison sites, conduct unrestricted interviews with witnesses and expedite the preparation of legal cases for prosecution.

Assad's ouster "has created a momentous opportunity for Syria to break with decades of repression and turn the page on human rights," Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement on Dec. 12.

"A better future for Syria requires addressing decades of abuse by the former government and other warring parties during the country's 13-year conflict... and protecting Syrians regardless of their ethnic or sectarian backgrounds or political affiliations."

HRW called on Syria's leadership to use this "unprecedented opportunity to lead by example on human rights."

After Assad's overthrow, thousands...