The Syrian Future Movement follows with deep concern the report issued by UN experts, published on August 21, 2025, detailing the failure of the Syrian transitional authorities to address the escalation of sectarian violence in As-Suwayda Governorate since July 2025.
This report comes in the context of a sensitive transitional phase in Syria, where the top priority must be protecting national unity and preserving the rights of all Syrian communities without discrimination.
The horrific details contained in the report, which include armed attacks on the Druze minority, regardless of their motive or cause, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,000 people, including 539 civilians (including 39 women and 21 children), in addition to 196 summary executions, the burning of 33 villages, the abduction of 105 Druze women and girls (80 of whom remain missing), and incidents of sexual violence and extrajudicial executions, reveal a serious failure by the transitional authorities to fulfill their duties to protect citizens. The report also highlights the involvement of security forces affiliated with the authorities in these violations, which reinforces a climate of impunity and fuels sectarian tensions, especially with the spread of hate speech in the media and on social media that portrays the Druze as traitors and infidels.
The Syrian Future Movement emphasizes that this inaction poses a direct threat to the Syrian social fabric, which we have fought hard to preserve after years of conflict.
Given the internal displacement of more than 192,000 people in the governorates of As-Suwayda, Daraa, and Homs, and the continued sporadic clashes, such as those that occurred on August 9, 2025, in the areas of Najran and Al-Wahla, it is imperative to respond immediately to the recommendations of the UN experts.
We strongly support their call to ensure rapid access to essential humanitarian aid and to conduct urgent, independent, and impartial investigations into extrajudicial killings, torture, and abductions, holding perpetrators accountable and revealing the fate of missing persons. We also support the Syrian leadership’s acknowledgement of the existence of violations and its promise to hold accountable anyone proven to have been involved, even if they belong to official forces.
The Syrian Future Movement supports the experts’ call to protect all minorities, including the Druze, to halt incitement to violence, and to facilitate the safe return or durable solutions for the displaced. This is the best response to the separatists and Israeli agents. We believe these measures must be supported by genuine efforts to address the deep roots of terrorism and violence, such as unresolved conflicts, discrimination, and exclusion.
The Syrian Future Movement calls on the transitional authorities to strengthen oversight and transparency mechanisms, and to engage civil society and local components in the peacebuilding process, with full commitment to human rights, especially the rights of women and girls who face risks of sexual and gender-based violence.
The Syrian Future Movement is committed to supporting the transitional phase towards a just, pluralistic, and unified Syria. It warns that any failure to confront these crises could exacerbate divisions and weaken national efforts. We also believe that those who are keen on the success of this phase are those who avoid sanctification, criticism, advice, and pressure from within Syrian society. We also call on the international community, including the United Nations, to increase pressure on the Syrian authorities to implement these recommendations and provide the necessary technical and humanitarian support for reconstruction and reconciliation. Syria is on a historic path to building its just state, and without internal and external assistance that overcomes the negatives and builds on the positives, recovery and building a state of institutions will be difficult to achieve. Syria belongs to all Syrians, and there is no room for sectarianism or impunity in our shared future.
