The Syrian Future Movement commemorates, on this day, March 25, 2026, the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, a day designated by the United Nations General Assembly to honor the memory of the millions of people stripped of their humanity and enslaved for centuries under oppression and subjugation.
We believe that the suffering endured by the victims of slavery and the slave trade—oppression, racism, and dehumanization—reminds us of the suffering endured by the Syrian people for decades under a despotic regime built on discrimination, exclusion, and the suppression of freedoms.
The Syrian Future Movement, which believes that the people are the source of all authority and the sole holders of the right to choose and direct it, sees this international occasion as an opportunity to reaffirm that combating all forms of discrimination and racism is an ongoing battle, and that building a new Syria requires a decisive break with the legacy of oppression and tyranny. Just as millions of Africans were stripped of their identity and dignity across the Atlantic, Syrians were deprived for decades of their will and their right to live freely under a regime that practiced sectarian and repressive policies of exclusion.
The Syrian Future Movement, which aims to establish a modern, democratic, and civil state that neither denies nor excludes the guidance of religions, and that does not disregard the values of citizenship in building the state and the nation, believes that the memory of the victims of slavery holds profound lessons for us in Syria today, namely:
First: Slavery in all its forms, whether traditional or modern, is a blatant violation of human dignity, which is guaranteed by divine religions and international laws, and has no place in the new Syria we seek to build.
Second: Racism and discrimination are the foundation upon which the slave trade was built, and they are the same scourge that permeated the institutions of the former regime, transforming it into a sectarian and racist system that violated the blood and honor of Syrians.
Third: Justice and accountability are the only way to ensure that human tragedies are not repeated, and uncovering the truth and commemorating the victims is a moral and humanitarian duty.
Fourth: Building a society based on equal citizenship and human rights is the true guarantee for Syria’s stability and prosperity during the transitional phase.
Based on this vision, and taking into account the circumstances of the transitional phase that Syria is undergoing after the blessed liberation on December 8, 2024, the Syrian Future Movement recommends the following:
First: Integrating human rights awareness and the dangers of racism into the Syrian educational curriculum, to serve as the foundation for raising a new generation that believes in human dignity and equal citizenship, and to promote a culture of moderation as a means of reconciliation among the Syrian people.
Second: Activating accountability mechanisms for all those proven to be involved in serious human rights violations, regardless of their identity or affiliation, similar to the procedures followed with perpetrators of slavery crimes in international courts. We believe that accountability is a necessary and essential step in combating corruption and those who perpetrate it.
Third: Supporting national and international efforts aimed at uncovering the fate of the disappeared and forcibly disappeared, and releasing all those arbitrarily detained. This should be considered a paramount national priority that cannot be postponed, and it falls within the Movement’s strategic objectives of uncovering the fate of the disappeared, imprisoned, and forcibly disappeared. Fourth: Working to formulate a comprehensive national project that enshrines the principle of equal citizenship and prohibits all forms of discrimination based on race, religion, sect, or gender, in accordance with international conventions that criminalize slavery and racial discrimination.
Fifth: Drawing lessons from the history of human enslavement to build a Syrian political system based on the peaceful transfer of power and respect for the popular will. A state of law and institutions cannot be built without a radical break with the culture of monopolizing power, which represents a modern form of oppression.
Sixth: Activating the role of national statistical institutions to monitor all forms of discrimination and racism in Syrian society and working to address them with a precise scientific methodology, while giving an active and influential role to science, specialists, and experts in order to advance Syrian society.
The Syrian Future Movement reiterates its position that building the new Syria cannot be complete without acknowledging all past violations and working diligently to ensure they are not repeated. Just as the United Nations commemorates the victims of slavery and the slave trade, we Syrians must commemorate all victims of tyranny and injustice, and work together to build a state of citizenship and freedoms, a state where there is no place for discrimination, oppression, or violations of human dignity.
As we remember today the millions of victims stripped of their humanity under the slave trade, we look forward to a future governed by the values of justice and equality, a future in which Syria will be a shining example of tolerance and coexistence, as the free revolutionaries of Syria have called for since the beginning of their blessed revolution.
