Three Syrian civil society organizations held a conference in Damascus on Sunday, November 2, under the title “From Ruins to Responsibility: Human Rights, Business, and the Future of Syria,” emphasizing that Syria’s reconstruction and economic recovery must rest on respect for human rights and the principles of justice and accountability to prevent a repeat of the former regime’s violations.

Organized by the Syrian Program for Legal Development, the Syrian World Business Association, and Syria Report, and attended by Enab Baladi, the conference brought together representatives of ministries, civil society, the business community, several UN agencies, and donor states to discuss how to build a shared vision for a more sustainable and responsible future.

Development is tied to human rights

Saad Baroud, Director of the Department of International Organizations and Conferences at the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said development and human rights are inseparable. He noted that the Syrian revolution that began in 2011 raised slogans grounded in human dignity and the unity of the Syrian people, which makes speaking about human rights in Syria an expression of a revolutionary commitment rooted in Syrians’ own needs.

Baroud added that reconstruction in Syria “is not built on good intentions alone” but requires clear public policies and legal and regulatory frameworks that balance individual freedom with the protection of human rights. He stressed several core principles, foremost that reconstruction is not merely a bricks and mortar process but a pillar of transitional justice. Buildings can be raised quickly, he said, but rebuilding trust and restoring rights take much longer.

He pointed out that housing, land, and property rights form a central axis of reconstruction and urban planning as the pathway to remedy past confiscations, forced displacement, and the disappearance of large numbers of Syrians during and before the revolution.

International experience in contexts similar to Syria’s shows that sustainable economic development rests on three pillars: good governance, a responsible private sector, and an active civil society, he said.

Baroud noted that Syrian civil society played a leading role during the revolution in demanding human rights, pursuing perpetrators, and seeking accountability. Today, it is redefining its roles according to a new matrix of priorities, and its ability to adapt quickly to change is a defining trait. Any development, he stressed, cannot come at the expense of people.

Working to prevent repeat violations

Sana Kikhia, Executive Director of the Syrian Program for Legal Development, said the long and tragic conflict in Syria was not only a political catastrophe or military repression, but also a profound failure of institutional responsibility and a clear manifestation of the involvement of economic and commercial sectors in the violations and atrocities witnessed over the past years.

Over 14 years of war following decades of “Assad dictatorship,” sectors such as construction, real estate, finance, telecommunications, and industry became enmeshed in repression. Some companies did not merely operate under the regime’s authority but directly benefited from human rights abuses through the systematic seizure of property belonging to citizens who were detained or forcibly displaced, she said.

“Reconstruction” touted at various stages often served as a cover to cement unlawful confiscations, Kikhia argued. The telecommunications and technology sector was mobilized to serve surveillance bodies used against Syrian activists, and its services became tools for transnational repression. She added that both foreign and local companies were complicit in developing the regime’s chemical arsenal used against civilians, asserting that without corporate support, the regime would not have been able to develop or deploy chemical weapons.

This entanglement flourished amid the absence of clear, enforceable legislation, enabling elites close to the former regime to amass wealth and evade accountability, to the point that doing business in Syria became inseparable from the system of repression and political control. No economic activity that profited from rights violations can be considered legitimate in the “new Syria,” she stressed, because its gains were built on the suffering of Syrians.

As for preventing recurrence, Kikhia warned that violations may return in the absence of sound legal frameworks and guarantees of accountability and rights. “We as Syrians in the new Syria will not allow this to happen again,” she said.

Rebuilding Syria is not limited to physical infrastructure. It also requires refounding the economic and legal frameworks on new and radical bases, with the next phase of development and investment built on the principle of “No harm, no foul,” meaning economic growth cannot come at the expense of human rights, she added.

The conference’s mission is to focus on accountability for the past, ensure fair compensation for victims, and shift from emergency response to responsibility and active participation. The objective, she said, is not to oppose business, but to support responsible business that respects human rights.

Syrians’ voices must be clear and firm in demanding accountability for those implicated in violations and in ensuring that the business sector is a responsible partner in the path of justice and recovery, not once again part of a machinery of repression, she concluded.

Reconstruction is not just a business

Human rights are a cornerstone not only of reconstruction but of building a modern economy, Nasser Youssef, a board member of the Syrian World Business Association, told Enab Baladi. No state can fully engage in economic relations with Western and democratic countries without clear policies that respect human rights and professional, sound engagement with the environment and the rights of women and children within a comprehensive human rights framework, he said.

Reconstruction in Syria is not merely a political or demographic issue, Youssef added. It consists of economic projects subject to profit and loss calculations. The state and supporting countries may participate, but actual implementation will be carried out by for-profit companies. These companies must consider the human and social impacts of their projects rather than focusing solely on financial returns, since effects on local communities can be positive or negative depending on their approach.

He pointed to a broad opening to reorganize labor unions and professional syndicates in the current phase. The outcome depends on how workers and professionals take the initiative to reorganize and set clear plans for their goals. The present environment, which offers greater space for freedom, gives them an opportunity to reclaim their rights. People should not wait for companies or employers to grant rights automatically, he said, but should seek and demand them, even as the law imposes fairness on all parties.

For his part, Ayman al-Mawlawi, President of the Damascus and Countryside Chamber of Industry, told Enab Baladi that justice and human rights are a sacred cause. He highlighted the importance of convening such conferences to shed light on violations during the former regime’s rule, which left a deep negative impact on workers and on Syrians as a whole.

Al-Mawlawi said traders and investors have been warned to operate within a framework of justice, ensuring that their projects are founded on legal and ethical bases and that the lands they use are neither usurped nor wrongfully taken.

He stressed the need to uphold principles of justice regarding workers’ rights and environmental protection, noting that any breaches in these areas will be subject to accountability, whether by the Syrian state or by other countries that enforce strict laws against those proven to have engaged in unlawful practices.

Al-Mawlawi added that some businesspeople associated with the former regime benefited from special privileges. While the Damascus and Countryside Chamber of Industry is not a judicial body that can hold them to account, it is ready to provide any requested information or data within investigations conducted under the Justice Law.

Participants also noted that the absence of a national housing authority is one of the main obstacles to attracting investment to this vital sector. Adopting a clear vision that places housing as a priority within Syria’s economic framework would open new investment horizons and stimulate the construction sector with positive spillovers for the national economy, they said.

Speakers stressed the importance of fair and transparent reconstruction, warning that announcing projects at the wrong time or without sufficient clarity could trigger disputes that are difficult to contain later.

Participants also explained that the coming phase requires reviewing and amending more than 190 laws to align with reconstruction and development needs. They affirmed that the private sector must be a genuine partner in this process, especially given the existence of seven areas entirely destroyed by displacement and systematic demolition, while sources of reconstruction financing remain insufficiently defined to date.

Syrian Justice Ministry moves to address unlawful property seizures