On March 16, 2011, the Syrian civil movement activists organized a sit-in in the Syrian capital, Damascus, demanding the release of thousands of prisoners of conscience and rejecting the policies of repression and abuse asserted by the Syrian regime and its security services. The sit-in inspired hundreds of thousands of Syrian women and men to continue their fight for respect of international human rights conventions, for freedom and justice, and to build a democratic state based on the rule of law, contrary to the Syrian regime’s strong suppression of the peaceful movement and perpetration of grave human rights atrocities of detention, torture, bombing, forced displacement, siege, starvation, and others.
On this day, despite the mass destruction of infrastructure in Syria and the lives of hundreds of thousands of victims, the millions of displaced people inside Syria and Syrian refugees around the world, we call on all Syrian democratic actors and Syrian civil society to participate in dialogue, coordination, collaboration, and to work together to:
- Release all detainees, kidnapped and clarify the fate and whereabouts of missing persons and provide support to the families.
- Realize political transition based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254 to achieve sustainable peace, inclusive security, transitional justice, and economic development.
- Build a democratic, pluralistic, decentralized state based on peaceful power transfer the rule of law, separation, and balancing of powers, an independent judiciary system, separation of religion from the state, and free of tyranny, terrorism, corruption, and discrimination
- Guarantee equality among all citizens, both women and men, in their rights and duties from all ethnicities, religions, and sects.
- support the effective participation of Syrian women and youth in decision-making positions based on UNSCR 1325 and UNSCR 2250.
- Support local communities in securing their basic humanitarian needs, realizing sustainable development goals, and building peace in Syria.