2023 was a year of growth, consolidation, and expanded programmatic work for Huquqyat. We continued to strengthen our organisational foundations while deepening our work across investigations, research, legal aid, events, and advocacy, all through a gender-sensitive and survivor-centred approach. During the year, Huquqyat also increased the visibility of its members’ expertise, held its official launch event, and brought members together for its first annual convening. In investigations and case building, Huquqyat advanced several accountability efforts related to crimes committed during the siege of South Damascus. This included continued work on the Ali Al-Wahsh investigation, the Beit Sahm investigation, and a case concerning crimes committed by an ISIS member during the siege of the South of Damascus. These efforts combined witness testimony, open-source analysis, and submissions to European prosecutors, war crimes units, and the IIIM, while maintaining a methodology grounded in gender-sensitive investigation and survivor-centred practice.
In research, Huquqyat produced important legal and contextual analysis on enforced disappearance in Syria, the use of siege and starvation as a method of warfare in South Damascus, and the legal obstacles faced by women in North West Syria. This work highlighted both the structural and gendered dimensions of violations, while supporting future accountability efforts and informing legal and advocacy strategies. In legal aid, Huquqyat began preparing the first phase of a legal aid project in northwest Syria, focused on a Pro-Bono legal representation strategy for marginalised women and children unable to afford court proceedings. The project planning included identifying target areas, defining the types of cases to be addressed, and developing a work plan to secure funding for three centres led by Huquqyat members.
In advocacy, Huquqyat continued to engage in international and regional spaces, including discussions at the UN, the Brussels Conference, and other civil society and policy forums. Through these efforts, Huquqyat brought feminist legal perspectives into conversations on justice, accountability, universal jurisdiction, enforced disappearance, sexual violence, and women’s meaningful participation in justice processes related to Syria.
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