"he who did wrong should be accountable" - the sjac weekly update
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8/13/2019 "He Who Did Wrong Should Be Accountable" - The SJAC Weekly Update
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1/31/14, 7:He who did wrong should be accountable" - The SJAC Weekly Update
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The SJAC Weekly Update- January 23, 2014
"He who did wrong should be accountable"
As Syrian opposition and government leaders meet in Genev a, it is critical
to consider the opinions of Syrians on the ground, particularly concerning
political settlements and transitional justice mechanisms. Research
commissioned by the SJAC does just this—uncovering promising results.
The research, which is detailed in the report “He who did wrong should beaccountable,” gathered opinions of Syrians from diverse geographic and
political backgrounds, and found considerable appetite for negotiated
settlements and formalized accountability processes. While this report
provides a snapshot of experiences of a wide range of Syrians, it is not
comprehensive – and is not meant to be so. Nonetheless, it offers valuable
insight into the opinions of Syrians who are living with this conflict on a
daily basis. Given the recent uncovering of large-scale prisoner abuse, and
the political opportunity at Geneva, it would be wise for stakeholders to
turn special attention to negotiated settlements and well-designed
accountability mechanisms.
Syrian Perspectives on Transitional Justice and Geneva II
This is a SJAC-commissionedreport, researched andproduced by Charney
Research.
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8/13/2019 "He Who Did Wrong Should Be Accountable" - The SJAC Weekly Update
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1/31/14, 7:He who did wrong should be accountable" - The SJAC Weekly Update
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On January 29, SJAC convened a discussion entitled “Syrian Perspectives
on Transitional Justice and Geneva II.” This event served in part to launch
‘He Who Did Wrong Should Be Accountable: Syrian Perspectives on
Transitional Justice,’ a report conducted by Charney Research in
cooperation with SJAC based on in-depth interviews with 46 Syrians from
a wide range of demographic backgrounds and political viewpoints.However, the event also provided an opportunity for a more general
conversation on transitional justice issues in the context of the currently
ongoing Geneva II negotiations. The discussion was hosted at the United
States Institute for Peace and was moderated by Firas Maksad (Managing
Director, Global Policy Advisors). The panelists were Andrew J. Tabler
(Senior Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy), Balkees
Jarrah (Counsel, International Justice Program, Human Rights Watch),
Craig Charney (President, Charney Research) and Mohammad Al Abdallah
(Executive Director, Syria Justice and Accountability Centre).
Al Abdallah opened by reviewing the key findings of the SJAC report,
including the strong demand for rule of law, support for trials as the best
form of transitional justice albeit given little knowledge of alternatives like
truth commissions, and other insights into the viewpoint of ordinary
Syrians. “Transitional justice has received remarkably little attention at the
Geneva talks,” he noted, despite the great importance of this issue.
Jarrah then discussed the position of Human Rights Watch, focusing in
particular on the possibility of ICC involvement. She noted the temptation
to forgo justice to end the conflict, using offers of impunity as a negotiating
tool. This approach, she argued, must be rejected. ICC involvement would
be a more productive means of moving towards justice and accountability
that could also delegitimize and marginalize bad actors. Support for this
approach by the United States has been limited, but Jarrah claimed that
public statements in favor of ICC involvement could be valuable even if the
US believes that Russian opposition makes the ICC avenue unrealistic.
Tabler took a more macro perspective, examining many of the practical
barriers to transitional justice given the situation on the ground. Citing
failed initiatives to have Assad removed to countries including the UAE,
Russia, and Iran as well as a ‘blacklist’ producing by Western countries of
8/13/2019 "He Who Did Wrong Should Be Accountable" - The SJAC Weekly Update
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1/31/14, 7:He who did wrong should be accountable" - The SJAC Weekly Update
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officials who needed to step down, he argued that any potential ICC
involvement significantly complicates such behind the scenes talks. He also
argued that support for trails makes sense given the culture of revenge in
the Levant, a point that Al-Abdullah returned to later in the discussion
when he noted that Syrian support for the ICC is limited both because there
is a desire for justice efforts to be Syria-led and because ICC penalties are
seen as insufficiently severe. “Syrians,” he said, “don’t want to see Assad in
a five star prison in The Hague for a maximum of 14 years.”
In discussing the methodology of the study, Charney highlighted the fact
that levels of fear in Syria were higher than those in any of the other
conflict environments where Charney Research has conducted work. Many
of the individuals interviewed for this report were extremely concerned that
their responses remain anonymous. Still, he noted that it was clear the
respondents had thought deeply about issues like transitional justice and
rule of law, and were not responding off-the-cuff.
Near the end of the discussion, both Charney and Al-Abdullah clarified that
the ‘He Who Did Wrong Should Be Held Accountable’ report does not
argue that now is the time to begin transitional justice mechanisms.Instead, now is the time to begin discussing transitional justice. Any
approach to transitional justice is guaranteed to leave some parties
unhappy, but a public dialogue can help manage expectations and prepare
the country to act decisively when the time to actively pursue transitional
justice does come. Given limited resources for reconstruction, sending a
very large number of violators to prison seems practically unfeasible, Al-
Abdullah remarked. On the other hand, as many panelists noted, a simple
forgive and forget approach is also unviable. Finding an appropriate
balance between these two extremes is essential, and this can only be
achieved through ongoing discussion.
The Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) is a non-profit, multilaterally-supported organization that envisions a Syria where people live in a state defined by justice, respect for human rights and rule of law.
The SJAC is collecting, preserving and analyzing information on human rights violations and other relevant data tocontribute to and inform a transitional justice process for Syria. Employing an unbiased and non-partisan approach,the SJAC also builds and maintains close relationships and partnerships with Syrian individuals, organizations,communities and international actors working towards justice and accountability for all Syrians.
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