After years of war and dictatorship, many countries turn to transitional justice to help heal their societies and rebuild trust. In Syria, however, this process is especially difficult after more than a decade of conflict. Understanding the link between transitional justice and civil peace is important for anyone trying to see how the country might achieve lasting stability. By the end of 2024, about 6.1 million Syrians were living as refugees abroad, and around 7.4 million were displaced inside the country. That means nearly a quarter of Syria’s population has been forced from their homes. Recent estimates suggest that between 120,000 and 300,000 people are still missing or have been forcibly disappeared.
These numbers raise difficult questions: how can Syria move from conflict to peace? Is justice an obstacle to stability, or a necessary condition for it? Can reconciliation happen without accountability? And can a lasting peace be built on silence and forgetting? Between those who want to “turn the page” and those who insist on “opening the files,” Syria faces a real dilemma. Some believe that holding people accountable could lead to revenge and new violence, while others warn that ignoring crimes will keep hatred alive. The future of Syria may depend on how these two ideas, justice and peace, can come together.
Human rights activist Omar Hazzah tells +963 that UNHCR data show more than 6.1 million Syrian refugees and 7.4 million internally displaced people by the end of 2024. The number of missing and forcibly disappeared ranges between 120,000 and 300,000, and around 100,000 former detainees still wait for compensation or recognition. About 30% of all homes have been completely destroyed and 40% have been damaged. These figures show that transitional justice must be at the centre of any effort to rebuild Syria. In a camp in northern Syria, a woman called Um Alaa, whose son disappeared in 2013, says: “I don’t want anyone punished. I just want to know where my son is. Justice means knowing the truth and hearing his name.” Activist Abdullah al-Hasan from Homs adds: “People don’t want revenge. They want recognition. If the files are closed without accountability, society will stay divided between victims and silence.”
Judge Moaz Abdulrahman explains to +963 that transitional justice means a mix of legal, political, and cultural steps to deal with past abuses; through courts, truth-seeking, compensation, and reform of institutions. Professor Nadine al-Salem says that transitional justice is not revenge but a way to close the chapter of violations while respecting human dignity. It combines truth, accountability, and the prevention of future crimes. For her, the real question in Syria is how to apply justice without reopening wounds. She adds that justice and peace are not opposites but depend on each other. However, any process must be flexible and realistic, considering Syria’s complex social and political situation.
Read also: International Recognition of Syria’s Elections: Between Necessity and Influence
Others fear that demanding justice now could slow down the peace process. Abdulrahman warns that large-scale trials and investigations might bring back painful memories and lead to revenge attacks, making it harder for refugees to return and for reconstruction to start. But al-Salem believes the opposite: that ignoring justice will only make peace temporary. She says that genuine peace cannot be built on forgetting. For her, a careful balance between truth, forgiveness, and compensation is the only way to stop the violence from returning.
A former government official in Damascus, who asked not to be named, tells +963 that the country needs stability first. Opening war files, he says, could divide Syrians again and threaten ongoing reconciliation. Justice is necessary, but it must come step by step, in line with security and political realities. He supports a local model for reconciliation that focuses on conditional amnesty and negotiated settlements instead of large trials, which can become politicised. Many citizens share this view, believing that rebuilding and the return of refugees should take priority, even if full justice must wait.
Journalist Malik Abdullah tells +963 that any reconciliation built on forgetting instead of accountability will not last. He warns that countries like Iraq and Lebanon, which ignored justice after war, saw new violence years later. He argues that transitional justice helps restore trust between people and the state through truth-telling, fair trials, and compensation for victims. When done properly and with participation from all sides, it can strengthen social unity and prevent future conflict.
Algerian journalist Rachid Boudjellal points to his country’s experience after the “black decade” of the 1990s, when more than 200,000 people died. Algeria’s government introduced laws for peace and reconciliation instead of full accountability. Around 15,000 fighters were pardoned, and over 10,000 families of missing people received financial compensation. This approach ended the war but left many questions unanswered. It brought peace but postponed deeper reconciliation, because there was no national debate about truth and responsibility.
Conflict-resolution expert Dr Anwar Darwish says Syria needs its own balanced model. He argues that Iraq failed because its process focused on revenge, while Lebanon settled for political deals that ignored justice. Syria, he suggests, should begin with truth-telling and reparations, then move carefully toward limited trials for those most responsible for serious crimes. At the same time, Syria should create independent bodies for missing persons, launch community reconciliation projects, and rebuild trust through legal and civic reform. “Transitional justice is essential for real peace,” Darwish says. “It may be delayed for political reasons, but it cannot be denied. If it is ignored, the wounds of war will stay open, and the country could fall back into conflict. The question now is not whether Syrians want justice, but what kind of justice can rebuild trust and bring peace based on truth, not fear.”
