In the context of the weekly honors presented by the Syrian Future Movement to national figures who made a difference in the course of the Syrian struggle, we award the Shield of Excellence to Honoree No. (45) to the prominent human rights activist and activist Fadel Abdul Ghani Al-Shaqfa, one of the most prominent Syrian voices who confronted the machine of oppression with documentation and truth.
From the stricken Hama to international platforms:
Al-Shaqfa was born in 1980 in the Syrian city of Hama. He grew up in a historic neighborhood near the Al-Sharqi Mosque and on the banks of the Orontes River. The 1982 Hama massacre left an indelible scar on his consciousness, forming the seed of his early commitment to issues of justice and rights.
Establishing an independent Syrian human rights authority:
He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Damascus University, majoring in Project Management. He then moved into the field of human rights work with the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, where he founded the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) in June 2011, to be an independent Syrian platform for documenting gross human rights violations in Syria.
He led pioneering efforts to monitor extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances, and sexual violence, making the network a recognized international reference for the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International within a few years.
From Engineering to International Law:
He continued his studies, earning a Master’s degree in International Law from De Montfort University in the United Kingdom in 2020. He participated in sessions of the UN Security Council and the Human Rights Council, providing evidence-based field testimonies on crimes and violations in Syria.
Transitional justice and international lawsuits:
He trained dozens of activists and media professionals on the fundamentals of human rights documentation in accordance with international standards, and contributed to shaping concepts of transitional justice, including issues of accountability, reparations, and truth-telling.
He also contributed to filing lawsuits before European courts against officials involved in war crimes in Syria, based on the principle of universal jurisdiction.
International awards and recognition:
In 2023, he received the Franco-German Human Rights Award in recognition of his human rights efforts and perseverance in defending the rights of Syrians.
He has written dozens of reports and analytical articles on justice, impunity, the fate of detainees, and refugee returns. He is known for his thoughtful analytical approach, which links human rights documentation to the desired political and constitutional transformation in Syria.
Honoring the “Guardian of Justice”:
We, in the Syrian Future Movement, based on our belief in the pivotal role of rights defenders, and in recognition of the “Syrian figures” who have adhered to truth and conscience, honor Fadl Abdul Ghani Al-Shaqfa this week, presenting him with the movement’s symbolic shield in honor of the “Guardian of Justice,” the bearer of the spirit of a united Syria and its just cause, in the face of tyranny and oblivion.
