The international conference “Gender-sensitive transitional justice process in Syria” organized by EuroMed Feminist Initiative, in collaboration with the Syrian Feminist Lobby, took place on 20 – 21 February 2019 in Paris, in the frame of the program Toward Sustainable Peace and Democracy in Syria Through Strengthening Civil Society and Women Rights funded by Sweden.
The conference created an interactive space where experts in transitional justice, gender experts, legal professionals, and women´s rights defenders exchanged knowledge and experience, underlying the importance of applying a gender perspective to transformative transitional justice.
The report summarizes the themes tackled during the conference and presents its main outcomes. The first section emphasizes the importance of a gender-sensitive transitional justice process for Syria and assesses the challenges standing in the way of Syrian organizations working in the field. The second section discusses the role of the international inquiry mechanisms for Syria and sums up the obstacles preventing them from fully achieving their aim. The following sections delve into the details of the four main transitional justice components: truth-seeking, reform and guarantees of non-recurrence, reparation, and justice. These sections draw on experiences and lessons learned from other countries. The last section analyzes the role of the international community and lists the main observations of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence. In lieu of a conclusion, the report provides a series of recommendations to the main actors involved in the transitional justice process for Syria