October 13, 2024

Members of the Syrian Negotiation Commission, including the head of the legal office, lawyer Tarek Al-Kurdi, and the head of the detainees committee, Alice Mufrej, met with law students at the Free Aleppo University via virtual connection over two days (which concluded yesterday, Saturday). They provided a comprehensive explanation of the tasks of the legal office and the detainees committee and their activities at the international level.

During the meeting, which was held in cooperation with the local councils unit, Al-Kurdi presented an overview of the legal office, its assigned tasks, working mechanisms, and the means through which it operates, as well as its relationships with international organizations and institutions concerned with legal affairs and human rights in Syria. He also discussed its role within the Negotiation Commission and its efforts in the areas of accountability, responsibility, and the mechanisms for implementing transitional justice.

He emphasized the importance of law students giving special attention to human rights issues in Syria, accountability, and international law, as these are central to transitional justice in later stages. He affirmed their capabilities in this field, especially since the commission supports these issues and its leadership strives by all means to ensure their realization at the international and UN levels, as they are a fundamental part of the political solution sought by Syrians, noting that there can be no sustainable peace in Syria without justice.

For her part, Ms. Alice Mufrej explained the nature of the work of the Committee on Detainees and the Disappeared, its tasks, and its objectives, as well as the most important files it is working on at the international level. She pointed out that the committee adopts the fact that the file of detainees and the forcibly disappeared is of special importance, and that the international community should work to apply pressure by all legal means to secure the release of all detainees and to clarify the fate of those who have disappeared.

She confirmed that there are significant challenges in this area facing the committee, which relies on experts in international law. The commission’s leadership also supports this committee during the intensive international political meetings it conducts. Additionally, the committee works well in cooperation with international organizations concerned with human rights and detainees. She noted that work on this issue requires the efforts of many Syrians and significant contributions from law students who will carry the banner of justice and advocate for human rights in their professional future and national endeavors.