Huquqyat provides internal training and capacity strengthening for its members, particularly those engaged in investigation, case building, legal research, advocacy, and survivor-centered accountability work.
Our internal training is designed to strengthen the skills of Syrian women legal practitioners and support their leadership in international investigations and accountability efforts. These trainings combine legal knowledge, practical investigation skills, feminist legal analysis, and peer learning.
Huquqyat’s internal capacity-building work has included training on:
1- Investigation planning and case development.
2- Interviewing techniques and trauma-informed interviewing.
3- Survivor-centered and gender-sensitive investigation methodologies.
4- Documentation and preservation of evidence.
5- Open-source and closed-source information collection and analysis.
6- Digital security, physical security, and risk assessment.
7- Case management and secure information handling.
8- Advocacy linked to investigative findings.
9- Collaboration with legal experts, investigators, and accountability actors.
Huquqyat’s approach to internal training is based on learning by doing. Members are not only trained through workshops, but also supported to apply their knowledge through supervised investigative and legal work. This approach allows members to develop practical skills while contributing to real accountability efforts.
Through mentorship, supervision, reflection, and peer exchange, Huquqyat works to build a strong network of Syrian women legal practitioners capable of leading gender-sensitive, survivor-centered, and methodologically sound investigations.
A core part of Huquqyat’s training model is the Learning-by-Doing approach, which integrates training directly into live or supervised investigative work. This model responds to a gap often found in traditional training programs: participants may receive theoretical knowledge but have limited opportunities to apply it in real investigative contexts. Huquqyat addresses this by combining structured training with supervised practice, mentorship, and feedback. This model helps Huquqyat build internal investigative capacity while ensuring that all case-building work follows consistent ethical, legal, and methodological standards. Huquqyat’s first Learning-by-Doing programmatic approach will start in June 2026 with two Huquqyat’s Junior Legal Investigators under the supervision of the Investigation Program Director.
Huquqyat also provides external training to Syrian lawyers, legal practitioners, activists, civil society organizations, and other actors working on justice, documentation, human rights, and accountability.
These trainings respond to the needs of practitioners who are documenting violations, supporting survivors, or contributing to justice efforts, but may not have access to formal training on international criminal law, international humanitarian law, evidence preservation, investigation planning, or survivor-centered documentation.
Huquqyat’s external trainings focus on areas where the organization has direct experience and expertise, including:
1- Documentation of human rights violations.
2- Documentation of detention-related violations.
3- Evidence collection, registration, preservation, and management.
4- Interviewing techniques and witness management.
5- Investigation planning and risk assessment.
6- Do No Harm principles.
7- Gender-sensitive and survivor-centered documentation.
8- Digital and physical security in documentation work.
9- Legal standards relevant to international crimes and serious human rights violations.
10- Victim-centered reporting and accountability pathways.
Huquqyat’s external training is practical and context-specific. They are designed to support safer, more ethical, and more legally useful documentation practices, especially for those working in high-risk environments or in direct contact with affected communities.
Where needs fall outside Huquqyat’s expertise, we seek to connect participants with organizations better placed to provide specialized support.
To date, Huquqyat members have provided various training to SWANA civil society organizations based outside Syria. In collaboration with the Syrian Center for Legal Studies and Research (SCLSR), Huquqyat members also trained over 150 lawyers and judges inside Syria after the fall of the regime, including in Damascus, Homs, Latakia, Tartous, and Hama.
Huquqyat also contributes to cross-sectoral learning by engaging with actors outside the legal field whose work intersects with accountability and justice, including researchers, students, journalists, social workers, and civil society professionals.
Through workshops, strategic consultations, and knowledge exchange, Huquqyat supports actors working on Syria-related justice issues to engage with violations in ways that are legally informed, survivor-centered, gender-sensitive, and ethically responsible.
This work may include guidance on:
1- Ethical documentation and information handling.
2- Do No Harm approaches in reporting, research, and public-facing work.
3- Survivor protection and informed consent.
4- Understanding the legal relevance of documented information.
5- Connecting research, journalism, and civil society work to broader accountability efforts.
These engagements help build a wider ecosystem of justice in which different sectors can contribute to accountability without compromising survivor safety, confidentiality, or ongoing legal processes. To date, in this capacity, Huquqyat members engaged with Syrian Female Journalists Network, Pollen Media on Yarmouk related media content and the New York Times.
Across all internal and external training, Huquqyat applies a feminist, survivor-centered, and practice-based approach. Our training is designed not only to transfer knowledge, but also to strengthen leadership, build confidence, and support meaningful participation in justice processes.
Our training approach is guided by:
1- Survivor-centered practice: prioritizing survivors’ rights, safety, autonomy, and dignity.
2- Gender-sensitive analysis: ensuring that gendered and differentiated harms are recognized and addressed.
3- Do No Harm principles: reducing risks to survivors, witnesses, communities, and practitioners.
4- Practical application: linking legal knowledge to real documentation and accountability work.
5- Security and protection: integrating digital, physical, and psychological safety into all training.
6- Peer learning and mentorship: creating spaces for exchange, reflection, and shared leadership.
7- Local ownership: strengthening the role of Syrian practitioners and communities in justice efforts.
Through this program, Huquqyat aims to strengthen the capacity of Syrian women.