Tuesday January 28, 2025, from 10 to 11:30 am EST - Online
What Comes Next? Unpacking the Post-Assad Transition in Syria
by the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP)
In a monumental event that has wide-reaching implications for the entire Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the whole world, on December 8, 2024, Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime was toppled from power in Syria. Over a ten-day period, a coalition of armed opposition groups, prominent among them Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), overtook key cities beginning with Aleppo all the way through Damascus in a stunning offensive. As cities were freed from regime control, so too were prisons; images of freed detainees, some of whom had been kept in custody for decades in harrowing conditions, captured the attention of the world.
In the time since, Ahmed al-Sharaa aka Abu Mohamed al-Jolani, the head of HTS and now de facto leader of Syria, has appointed a prime minister, and a caretaker government is being formed. Foreign dignitaries, including from the United States and Europe, have traveled to meet with its representatives. Discussions and debates are underway on how the transition should be managed and by whom, how and when a constitution is to be drafted, when and who will be invited to the national dialogue and what are its expected outcomes, as well as how transitional justice should be pursued. Meanwhile, Syria remains under wide-ranging sectoral sanctions, and HTS continues to be listed as a terrorist organization by the UN and a number of key foreign countries. Syrians who had long been in exile and displaced due to political expression or as a result of the war are returning to witness the country’s historic moment, and loved ones of the tens of thousands of detained and disappeared, whose fates have not yet been discovered, continue to search for answers.
On Tuesday January 28, 2025, from 10 to 11:30 am EST, join the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP) for “What Comes Next? Unpacking the Post-Assad Transition in Syria.” This virtual event will feature Suhail al-Ghazi, Karam Shaar, Muzna Dureid, and Wafa Mustafa and be moderated by Obai Kurd Ali. Tune in to hear our speakers address the following questions: What should we make of Syria’s new caretaker government and the actions it has taken thus far? How do we expect the international community and key individual states to engage with Syria’s new government, amid sanctions and the status of HTS? How do we expect states to engage with Syrian asylum seekers and refugees amid application freezes and plans for deportation? What are the priorities of Syrian civil and political leaders, civil society, and victim and family-led organizations in this transitional period and what are their visions for the future?
Speaker bios and to register: What Comes Next? Unpacking the Post-Assad Transition in Syria - The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy