WASHINGTON, D.C. — Human Rights First today released an extensive new report detailing both positive developments and serious human rights concerns in Syria following the fall of the Assad government in December 2024. The report is based on a fact-finding trip to northeastern Syria in April 2025.
The report addresses the promising and daunting situation facing Syrians today, as described by those with whom Human Rights First spoke. Interviewees expressed optimism about new possibilities for inclusion and democracy but raised alarms about extremism, sectarianism, discrimination, and ongoing human rights abuses occurring under the new Syrian Transitional Government (STG).
“The collapse of the Assad government presents an extraordinary opportunity for Syria to remake itself,” said Josh Colangelo-Bryan, Special Counsel at Human Rights First and author of the report. “But the people we spoke with, while being grateful to see Assad go, are deeply concerned about a range of issues—particularly with regard to sectarian discrimination, the treatment of women, and continued impunity for perpetrators of grave crimes.”
The report includes first-hand testimonies from Syrian human rights defenders, displaced persons, and community leaders, among others. It underscores the urgent need for the STG to protect human rights, ensure accountability, and govern inclusively, and for the international community to offer critical support.
The report addresses:
- Positive developments, including some cooperation between the STG and Kurdish-led forces, the issuance of an interim constitution that contains provisions protecting human rights, and the creation of a commission to address violations of international law.
- Concerning developments, such as the interim constitution’s consolidation of power under a presidency with few checks and balances and its inclusion of provisions that could be cited to discriminate on the basis of religion or gender.
- Serious human rights abuses, including mass killings, largely of Alawites, in Syria’s coastal regions and targeted violence against the Druze community, raising fears about revenge attacks and sectarianism.
- Actions and statements by STG officials that are contrary to principles of gender equity, combined with a lack of women in the STG cabinet and disturbing reports of regressive attitudes toward women and efforts to segregate or remove them from positions of influence, including in the judiciary.
- An improperly circumscribed approach to transitional justice by the STG, with a focus solely on Assad-government crimes, while abuses by other actors evidently will be unaddressed.
- Widespread internal displacement, including of tens of thousands in northern Syria who are unable to return home due to ongoing occupation and violence by Turkish and allied forces.
Human Rights First urges the international community to listen to the voices of Syrians and prioritize accountability and human rights in engagements with the STG and other actors shaping Syria’s future.
Read the report in English and Arabic here.
