This year, the International Center of Transitional Justice, co-organised with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Representation of Germany to the EU and The Bridges of Truth (BoT) project a side event during the Brussels Conference to highlight the ongoing realities for Syrians in country and abroad.

The side event will focus on the specific challenges facing victims of human rights and humanitarian law violations if they were to return, given the lack of any effort on the part of the regime to address the root causes of the conflict and the legacies of massive and serious human rights violations, to provide accountability for the crimes committed, to implement reforms to prevent future violations, and to repair the harms suffered by the victims.These include arrest and arbitrary detention, ongoing trauma and the lack of psycho-social support, and the lack of any effort to build social cohesion and avoid the renewal of violence.