Istanbul
Nov 22nd 2021
The Day After conducted a one day meeting between survivors of detention in Syria and international accountability mechanisms. The meeting aim was to strengthen the connections between survivors and international mechanisms and to strengthen the voices of survivors.
More than 95 male and female survivors participated in the meeting including 50 of them via zoom from Syria. Representatives of the international accountability mechanisms participated in person or virtually including Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria (COI) , The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights OHCHR,The International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism IIIM, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP),the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) , and other international and Syrian human rights organizations and partners.
The participants raised several topics including the potential transitional justice tracks in Syria, and international tracks to justice and accountability to hold the perpetrators of violations, most notably the Syrian regime, in Syria accountable.
The survivors participants, who have been participating in TDA’s capacity building programs for over a year, presented their major needs and shared their recommendations including but not limited to more support to the capacity building programs so they can improve their engagement with accountability mechanisms, and more support to financial and education programs which target survivors.
The survivors emphasized the necessity to the sustainability of Syrian and international advocacy to fight the stigma of female detainees, and focus on the integration programs which include medical and psychosocial support to survivors.
The representatives of the international accountability mechanisms spoke about the mandates, goals and missions of each of ICMP, IIIM, and COI, emphasizing the role of survivors in any accountability mechanism, and encouraged survivors to document their stories and testimonies. They also gave some updates on the filed complaints against the crimes of the Syrian regime and other perpetrators in Syria.
During this one day meeting, four survivors shared their stories about their suffering during detention, and later because of the stigma. The participants called the international community to put concrete efforts on accountability in Syria, and to ensure that reparation is included in any accountability track.
The Day after works to support survivors of detentions and their families of missing persons, and GBV survivors through its capacity building programs, legal consultations, and psychosocial support referral pathways.
