The UK should look to support any Syrian requests for Assad's extradition
4 min read
After half a century of tyranny in Syria, the criminal regime has fallen – and it provides Syrians an opportunity for a better future.
The UK and her allies must do all they can to facilitate the protection of minorities, prevent regional escalation and encourage the new administration to forge a path towards prosperity over sectarian violence.
Since 2011, around half a million people have been killed in Syria’s civil war, and over 13 million displaced. Assad prosecuted a bloody war of terror against his own people. No crime was too atrocious for him or his backers.
Assad’s campaign of imprisoning opponents – even children – in “human slaughterhouses” such as Sednaya, will be known among history's worst examples of crimes against humanity. Many innocent people are still unaccounted for.
We should all share in jubilation at the fall of Assad, not just for the brave Syrian people, but because of the wider consequences both for the Middle East and Europe.
The regime change is a catastrophic loss for the world’s worst belligerents, the Iranian regime and Russia. The tyrants in Tehran have suffered a major blow to their “axis of resistance”, exposing strategic and military weakness. Meanwhile, as Assad cowers in Russia, Putin is forced to face the fact he will have to scramble to save his military bases in Syria.
It is vital that international actors keep a watchful eye on what happens next. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) saw off Assad, but there are a multitude of other groups with different motives and operations in the country. While HTS say they support a “stable transition” and have offered assurances to minorities in Aleppo, Hama and Damascus, we can only judge them by what happens next.
We should do all we can to ensure the removal of Russian forces from Syria
We must heed warnings from experts such as Dr Haid of Chatham House, who has expressed concern about HTS predominantly appointing their own people to lead the transition period. A new leadership should be inclusive, a Syrian led conglomerate of diverse voices to help decide Syria’s future.
Those like the British Syrian Consortium and the Syrian White Helmets – whose unwavering hope for a free Syria is inspirational – must be front and centre of what comes next.
Russia bears a great deal of the responsibility for the death and destruction suffered by Syrians; they have regulated the nature and tempo of the Syrian civil war. In concert with our allies and regional partners we should do all we can to ensure the removal of Russian forces from Syria. The UK could also provide diplomatic support to any Syrian government request for the extradition and trial of Assad.
We were reminded in 2023 that non-state actors can upend state and regional priorities. Britain should therefore ensure the new administration keeps its boot on ISIS’ throat. In the absence of a regional security architecture in the region, we should explore how the Global Coalition Against Daesh and the Syrian government can identify shared goals in suppressing ISIS. This should include encouraging cooperation between any new Syrian government and the autonomous administration of North and East Syria to ensure that, for now, ISIS members in Al-Hawl camp are held there.
In 2015, Jo Cox MP described Britain’s Syria policy as “a deadly mix of timidity and confusion.” There are often prudent arguments for restraint in foreign affairs, but many spent the last thirteen years hiding their timidity and confusion behind this pretence, not least in the period between 2010-15 when both frontbenches lacked any strategy or political will to protect civilians from Assad’s brutality.
The UK could provide diplomatic support to Syrian requests for the extradition and trial of Assad
Between 2015 and 2019 my own party’s leadership even abandoned that pretence, and with it any attempt to uphold progressive principles and the national interest. We must condemn the sophistry and moral bankruptcy of some between 2015-19 who claimed to believe in peace and justice, while making excuses for Putin and Assad.
We got it wrong in Syria and we must not allow it to happen again. As my colleague Alison McGovern said in 2022: “We in this house must have the persistence and seriousness of purpose to give effect to our values, and to defend our interests, and the moral discipline to see things to the finish.”
The UK must show leadership and empower Syrians to forge a safe future where all their people can flourish.
David Taylor is the Labour MP for Hemel Hempstead and a member of the International Development Committee
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