After more than 13 years of war and over 50 years of Assad rule, political events in Syria reached a turning point at the end of 2024. Since the overthrow of the dictatorial government by Islamist rebels, the population has been hoping for a new chapter dominated by peace and freedom. Syria now faces the challenge of building a new state. At the same time, the political and humanitarian situation remains critical. How can justice and peace be established after decades of violence? Is Syria a ‘safe country’ now that refugees can return to without risk? What is needed for a free and democratic future? And how can human rights be guaranteed?

On 29 April 2025, high-ranking experts debated the opportunities and challenges on the path to a free Syria at the Diplomatic Academy Vienna before a large audience. The event took place at the invitation of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR), the University of Vienna, the Austrian League of Human Rights, and Amnesty International Austria.

‘The world is hopeful,’ emphasised Michael Lysander Fremuth, Scientific Director of the LBI-GMR and Professor of Fundamental and Human Rights at the University of Vienna, summarising the status quo in his opening statement. ‘Syria is a black box for the West,’ he said, pointing to the complexity of the situation. All panlists agreed that it was all the more important to focus on this country with such a rich history, which has been ravaged by dictatorship and war.

In his keynote speech, Peter Krois, former Head of Mission at the Austrian Embassy in Damascus, gave a gripping account of the period before and after ‘Hour Zero’ – the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024. Syria needs dialogue on equal terms, not another one-man show, Krois said. ‘Either there is room for human rights in the new Syria, or there will be no new Syria,’ he said in no uncertain terms.

Banan Sakbani, Law Student, Author and Musician, was born in Damascus and has lived in Austria since 2017. She spoke passionately in favour of giving the transitional government time. ‘Building democracy takes time,’ she said. To secure peace, Sakbani said, it was necessary to talk to everyone and forgive people. She also noted that the transitional government has not yet implemented a plausible separation of powers.

The new Syrian rulers are jihadists from the Al Qaeda tradition, Walter Posch, Orientalist and Expert at the Institute for Peacekeeping and Conflict Management at the National Defence Academy, took a critical view. ‘The current government was the most pragmatic solution,’ said the security expert.

Abdulhkeem Alshater, Co-Founder of the Association of the Free Syrian Community Austria, warned against deporting people to Syria at this point in time. Alshater pointed to the volatile situation and said that it was necessary to wait for a democratic, free system to be established. In this regard, he said that establishing justice was the be-all and end-all.

Christoph Pinter, Head of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Austria, also emphasised that now is not the right time for large-scale repatriation programmes to Syria. The country lies in ruins.

There is no blueprint for a successful new beginning, according to Frank Haldemann, Associated Researcher and Expert for Transitional Justice at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. What is needed, he said, are the cornerstones of justice, truth and reparation. He sees the solution in compromise. Although this may seem ‘wishy-washy,’ it is also the first step toward accepting the former enemy as a negotiating partner.

The lively audience Q&A made it clear that further developments in Syria will have an equally immense impact on neighbouring countries and the entire world. This tied in perfectly with Peter Krois‘ opening quote from an Arabic saying: ’Look at your neighbour first before you look at your house.’

The discussion was chaired by ORF journalist Rosa Lyon, one of the few Western journalists who was able to report from Syria before the fall of the Assad regime. Following the audience Q&A, the organisers invited guests to a get-together where the lively debate continued.

The Human Rights Talks see themselves as a platform for social discourse on current topics with human rights relevance. The events present top-class speakers to the interested public and analyse human rights challenges and socio-political trends in a differentiated manner and with professional expertise, but at the same time in an accessible way and with practical relevance. An important component of the format is the interactive audience discussion.