Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has announced the formation of a National Transitional Justice Committee to investigate and address human rights violations committed during the former Bashar al-Assad regime, marking a significant step toward accountability and national reconciliation, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.

The 13-member committee, chaired by Abdel Basit Abdel Latif with Zahra Najib Al-Barazi as deputy chair, was established through a presidential decree issued on Thursday evening. According to SANA, the committee will begin its work immediately, with its responsibilities outlined in internal regulations. The body is tasked with probing serious abuses from the Assad era, particularly those stemming from the regime’s violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests that erupted in 2011.

The committee’s mandate focuses on documenting and addressing grave violations, including chemical weapons attacks, indiscriminate barrel bomb assaults on civilian areas, mass arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and widespread torture in notorious detention facilities. Human rights organizations and the United Nations have long called for justice, estimating that these actions resulted in hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths and widespread suffering.

The initiative follows the Syrian National Dialogue Conference held in February 2025, where participants emphasized transitional justice as essential for fostering reconciliation and political stability. The conference highlighted the need to hold accountable those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed under Assad’s rule.

President al-Sharaa’s establishment of the committee represents a pivotal move by his administration, signaling a commitment to confronting the legacy of the Assad regime’s atrocities. Analysts view the step as a potential turning point for Syria, aiming to pave the way for justice, accountability, and national healing in a country scarred by over a decade of conflict. (ILKHA)