A year after the end of the Syrian Civil War, the path to transitional justice remains unsteady

Author: Devin Windelspecht, MSc

December 10, 2025

HRRC welcomes efforts to create mechanisms for transitional justice in Syria following the country’s 14-year civil war, but expresses deep concern over sectarian killings of Alawites, Druze, and other minorities in the country over the last year. 

We stress that justice cannot only be achieved through holding to account those responsible for the crimes of the Assad regime, but also those committed by factions affiliated with the current government. We encourage the international community to support sincere efforts toward justice, accountability, and reconciliation in Syria.

Scenes from December 2024 of destruction in Damascus after a 13-year civil war that left half a million people dead. [Image credit: David Guttenfelder/The New York Times]

A year after the end of Syria’s 14-year civil war – which concluded with a rapid and dramatic rebel offensive that quickly captured major cities and led to the collapse of the regime of then-President Bahsir al-Assad – the possibility for justice for the victims of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the conflict remains uncertain. 

Notably, President Bashir al-Assad and many of his closest allies, including Qahtan Kalil (the director of Syria’s air force intelligence), former Defense Ministers Ali Abbas and Ali Ayoubb, and al-Assad’s brother, Maher al-Assad  – all of whom have been accused of directing human rights violations and atrocities – remain at large. Al-Assad is currently believed to be in Russia, where he sought asylum after fleeing Syria. The whereabouts of other figures such as Maher al-Assad remain unknown, although some are also believed to be in Russia. 

Al-Assad is wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity for targeting civilians with chemical weapons in 2013, in which at least 1,450 people living in rebel-held neighborhoods were killed by nerve gas, and for war crimes during the mass bombing of the city of Deraa in 2017. Assad and his brother, Maher al-Assad, are additionally wanted for assassinating journalist Marie Colvin and three others in a targeted strike. Each of the warrants for arrest were issued by courts in France, but apply to all countries in the European Union. 

Regardless of whether or not members of the Assad regime are held to justice, over the last year, worrying instances have arisen of Syrians taking matters into their own hands through violence against groups that many Syrians associate with supporting the past regime, most notably the Alawite group (of which al-Assad was a member) and the country’s Druze population.

In March, at least 1,500 Alawaties were killed in a days-long rampage which included massacres of women, children, and the elderly. In July, attacks on Druze villages resulted in over 500 dead, according to the U.N., which included killings, enforced disappearances, and sexual violence targeting Druze women and girls. 

The government of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has vowed to investigate the killings. However, in both cases, government forces have been accused of supporting and even participating in the violence. 

Nevertheless, efforts have been made to establish official transitional justice projects to hold perpetrators of the Assad regime’s crimes to account through official processes. These include the establishment of two national commissions, one for transitional justice and one for missing persons, which together are tasked with investigating serious human rights abuses, promoting national reconciliation, and investigating the fate of missing persons during the civil war. The commissions, though welcome steps towards justice for many victims, have been criticized for applying only to atrocities committed by the Assad regime during the war. 

In marking the one-year anniversary of the civil war’s end, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on the international community to support Syria’s path to justice and reconciliation, calling international support “essential to keep the transition from the chaos of a year ago on track.” 

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Glossary

• Accountability – holding those responsible for crimes carried out to account, including in a court of law or international law. 

• Affiliated – related to or working with. 

• Alawite – a religious minority group associated with Shi’a Islam native to Syria. Al-Assad and many members of his inner circle were members of this group. 

• Arrest warrant – a legal document that calls for a person to be arrested if found within the bounds of the country. In the case of the EU, countries in one part of the EU are legally bound to abide by arrest warrants set by another. 

• Atrocity – a mass human rights abuse or crime against humanity. 

• Assassinating – killing a person with intent for a political purpose. 

• Asylum – asking for protection from another country on the belief that your life, safety or freedom or in danger in your home country. 

• Chemical weapons – weapons of mass destruction that use chemical means known to inflict severe injury or death indiscriminately on a given area. A commonly known version is Mustard Gas during the First World War. 

• Crime against humanity – distinct from war crimes, and usually involve large-scale attacks on civilians. Also distinct from genocide, in that crimes against humanity do not necessarily involve the intent to destroy a racial, ethnic, or religious group. 

• Druze – an insular religious group found in Israel, Lebanon and Syria, related to but not usually considered a part of Islam. 

• Enforced disappearance – killing or holding a person against their will so that their remains or whereabouts cannot be discovered. 

• Factions – political, ethnic, religious, or social groups. 

• Gender-based violence – violence targeting an individual based on their identified or perceived gender. 

• Human rights violation – infringing on the dignity and basic human rights of an individual. This can include sexual assault and gender-based violence, arbitrary arrest or detention, or torture. 

• Massacre – the mass killing of noncombatants, such as civilians or prisoners. 

• Mechanism – means to carry out a process. 

• Nerve gas – a type of highly deadly chemical weapon that shuts down nerve signals to the brain, leading to paralysis of the body and lungs and leading to death through suffocation. 

• Offensive – a military maneuver designed to gain and hold territory. 

• Rampage – unchecked and mass violence and destruction of property. 

• Reconciliation – the processes of restoring peace, trust, and good relations between previously conflicting groups. 

• Sectarian - policies or actions targeting a given sect, be it religious, ethnic, or political. 

• Sexual violence – violence usually, but not exclusively, targeting women and girls. Sexual violence can include rape, mutilation of genitals, and forced performance of sexual acts. 

• Transitional justice – justice mechanisms made with the goal create reconciliation, discover the truth of past crimes, and hold perpetrators of crimes to account during a conflict. Notable examples include South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

• Vowed – promised. 

• War crime – a crime that violates the rules of how war should be carried out between combatants, among other rules dictating the treatment of prisoners of war and the banning of indiscriminate weapons like landmines.