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Throughout 2025, ICTJ’s experts offered thoughtful analysis on conflicts and major political developments in more than 10 countries as part of the World Report newsletter. Their insightful commentaries shed light on the obstacles that victims, civil society, and their partners must navigate as they pursue sustainable peace and justice. In this edition, we look back on the past year through the Expert’s Choice column.

Across Syria today, we continue to witness human rights violations and abuses that run counter to the very principles upon which the revolution was built. In particular, recent violence in the coast and Sweida has deepened the sense of fear and mistrust already felt by many communities. Meanwhile, Syria's new transitional justice commissions have been working hard to lay the foundations of their mandates. Now, at this critical juncture, they must show that they are ready to lead and first and foremost to serve victims.

ICTJ welcomes the formation of two new independent institutions in Syria: the National Commission for Transitional Justice and the National Commission for the Missing. Established by presidential decree, these commissions represent a historic step forward in acknowledging the demands of victims and their families and formally responding to the widespread violations committed in Syria over the last decades.

ICTJ is outraged by the recent massacre in Syria, where over 1,000 civilians were brutally killed in yet another wave of violence. This appalling crime underscores the urgent and undeniable need to protect civilians and provide justice and accountability.

The fall of the Assad regime marks the beginning of a long-overdue transformation in Syria. For the first time in decades, space has opened to speak freely about justice, accountability, and reconciliation. It is a moment filled with uncertainty and pain, but also one of immense hope.

The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime after 53 years of authoritarian rule marks a significant moment in the pursuit of justice, peace, and human rights. While this transition opens the door to new possibilities, it also underscores the immense obstacles and responsibilities that lie ahead.

On Thursday, January 13, 2022, the Higher Regional Court in Koblenz, Germany, convicted Anwar Raslan, a senior official in the Syrian government, for crimes against humanity. The landmark trial, the first ever to prosecute a member of Bashar al-Assad’s regime for such crimes, highlights a crucial component without which Raslan would never have been convicted: the role of victims in achieving justice.

The millions of Syrians displaced by the grinding decade-long war have sought out safety far and wide, in safe havens within the country, in neighboring countries in the region, and further afield. Those who managed to reach Europe often did so against the odds and often after experiencing displacement more than once. Now, one of these countries, Denmark , is taking away from Syrians living in its borders the protection they so desperately sought and still need and, with it, the tiny bit of hope that they have worked so hard to preserve.

The Syrian Constitutional Committee has finally been agreed upon. The 150-member committee — made up of representatives of the Syrian regime, the opposition, and civil society members — is tasked with writing a new constitution for Syria. In an ideal world, this new constitution could be the first step to bringing an end to the deadly conflict that has left the country, and the lives of countless Syrian people, in ruins.