Conference discusses building Syrian peace mechanism

The Organization for Humanitarian and Development Cooperation, in cooperation with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, held a two-day conference titled "Dealing with the Past Towards a Syrian Peacebuilding Mechanism." The conference will be held at the Marbella Restaurant in the city of Hasakah in the Jazira Canton.

The conference was attended by approximately 50 figures from political, legal, and social elites, as well as civil activists and representatives of civil society organizations in the city.

The conference aims to incorporate the views and recommendations of the participants into a basic principles paper that paves the way for the establishment of a Syrian peacebuilding mechanism based on the concept of dealing with the past. It also aims to raise awareness of peace mechanisms during transitional phases in conflict-affected communities.

The conference was moderated by Bilind Malla Hussein, an expert in dealing with the past. A number of speakers participated in the sessions, including Gabriel Chamoun, the deputy co-chair of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, and Dr. Khaled Jabr, an international law researcher. In addition, civil society activist and social programs advisor Buthaina Al-Omar was also present.

The first day of the conference focused on introducing basic concepts about "dealing with the past," reviewing the experiences of other countries in this field. Dialogue sessions were also organized with local leaders to discuss peacebuilding mechanisms in the Syrian context.

On the sidelines of the conference, Bilind Malla Hussein, an expert in dealing with the past, told ANHA agency: "The concept of dealing with the past was proposed in the 1970s and was adopted by the Swiss Foreign Ministry in cooperation with human rights organizations, becoming a comprehensive framework for dealing with conflicts and contexts of state weakness and loss of legitimacy—the challenges we face in Syria."

He added, "The conference aims to build common ground and mutual understanding among participants, to come up with recommendations on local issues that transcend the transitional period, especially given the limited mechanisms of the Transitional Justice Commission, which was established by official decree without adopting non-judicial mechanisms that might provide justice to the remaining victims."

Malla Hussein pointed out that the transitional justice process in Syria suffers from shortcomings due to its lack of comprehensiveness and integration, and its weak representation. He explained that the relevant commission focuses on violations that occurred during the years of the Syrian crisis and addresses one party to the conflict, while the issues of local communities extend back much further, to the 1950s.

Malla Hussein concluded his remarks by saying, "The Autonomous Administration has a real opportunity to embrace this project and introduce concepts for dealing with the past to its communities, given the specificity of its issues, which go beyond the violations committed by the former regime."

The conference is scheduled to continue its second day tomorrow, with focused working sessions to discuss the four pillars of the concept of dealing with the past: "the right to knowledge, the right to justice, reparations, and guarantees of non-recurrence." This will be done within local, national, and international dimensions, and at the political, economic, and social levels.

Sh-S

ANHA