Key takeaways from Syria’s National Dialogue conference

Syria’s National Dialogue, a key moment in the country’s political transition after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December, concluded on Tuesday.

A statement delivered at the conclusion of the one-day conference, which was only announced on Sunday and gave many potential attendees little time to prepare for, opened the door to the creation of a new constitution and stressed the importance of human rights and freedom of expression.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who had earlier urged Syrians to “stand united and hand in hand to heal the wounds and wash the pains of decades of dictatorship” was one of the attendees.

Here are three key takeaways from the conference:

What will Syria’s new constitution be?

A new constitution was anticipated due to the nature of Syria’s revolution, which was complete rejection of the al-Assad family’s and Baath party’s decades-long rule.

The nature of that constitution will reveal a lot about Syria’s future, particularly as doubts remain among many over al-Sharaa’s intentions, in light of his former affiliation with al-Qaeda.

Al-Sharaa has avoided conflicting rhetoric and has taken a quick break from his past.

At the Dialogue, delegates were divided among working groups, with each focusing on a different topic, including the constitution, freedoms, the economy and civil society.

Houda Atassi, a member of the Preparatory Committee for the National Dialogue who read the statement at the conclusion of the conference, said the committee had called for a “temporary constitutional declaration” and a “temporary legislative council” to help determine the country’s future.

The draft constitution should achieve “a balance between authorities, establishing justice, freedom, and equality, and laying the foundation for a state of law and institutions”, the full statement said.

No other details were provided, and the workshop discussions were private, leaving the question of how the constitution would form only days before the previously announced March 1 deadline for the formation of a new transitional government.

Sovereignty and Israel’s actions

The statement’s final statement vehemently denounced Israel’s actions in Syria following its overthrow, calling them “blatant violations of the Syrian state’s sovereignty.”

Israel has shifted its forces to a buffer zone between Syria and the Golan Heights, which is also Israel’s illegally occupied Syrian territory. Additionally, Israel has controlled several military installations outside the buffer zone, including Mount Hermon, and has launched numerous bombing raids, including Tuesday night bombings.

The Israeli forces had to be “immediate and unconditionally withdrawn” from Syria, according to the National Dialogue.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s threat that Syria’s military presence in southern Syria would not be tolerated by his country was rejected by the panel.

Israel’s declaration that it was willing to protect Syria’s minority Druze community, which many live in the south, also sparked sectarian tensions.

The committee called for “unity of the Syrian Arab Republic” and “sovereignty over its entire territory, rejecting any form of fragmentation, division, or ceding any part of the homeland”.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led organization that controls large portions of northeastern Syria, have been in discussions with Syria’s new government.

The Syrian government rejects the United States-backed SDF, which has vowed to give up its weapons and has expressed a desire for some form of autonomous rule in the regions it controls.

Rights and freedoms

The closing statement also called for “supporting the role of women in all fields” and “rejecting all forms of discrimination based on race, religion, or sect”.

Additionally, it rejected requests for religious or ethnic quotas in the government, which al-Sharaa and other ministers have previously criticized.

After ministerial statements, it has become unclear what women will do in the new government. For instance, Aisha al-Dibs, the head of the Women’s Affairs Office in the Syrian caretaker government, had previously said in December that women would play a key role but would not “go beyond the priorities of their God-given nature”, and would know “their educational role in the family”.

Asaad al-Shaibani, the country’s foreign minister, responded quickly to those assertions, saying that the new authorities “believe in the active role of women in society.”

The Dialogue’s closing statement called for the protection of freedoms, including the freedom of opinion and expression. This will make a significant difference from the previous regime, which regularly sentes Syrians to jail for their speeches.

Another rights issue referred to in the closing statement was achieving transitional justice and holding “those responsible for crimes” accountable, while “rejecting all forms of violence, incitement, and revenge”. In Homs and other parts of the country, reports of retaliation attacks against those affiliated with the al-Assad regime have recently emerged.

Was there a lack of preparation for the National Dialogue?

Before the National Dialogue even started, there was much confusion, with numerous invitations being sent out at the last minute.

George Sabra, a member of the opposition, announced on social media that he had been invited to attend Damascus on February 23. Sabra claimed he could not travel to Syria in time because he lives in France.

Critics claim that there is little information about the election schedule and how free the new Syria will be because the National Dialogue’s announcement fits into a wider pattern that has worried Syrians pushing for democratic pluralism.

Due to what some have called a lack of representation in the preparatory committee, there were doubts about the discussions.

Source: Aljazeera