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Syria's national dialogue conference calls for reforms, constitutional draft

Participants in Syria’s first national dialogue called for reforms in the political and judicial systems as the country navigates the transitional phase that followed the fall of the Assad regime.

DAMASCUS, SYRIA - FEBRUARY 25: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa holds a speech at the National Dialogue Conference on February 25, 2025 in Damascus, Syria. A national dialogue conference intended to help chart Syria's political future after the fall of former President Bashar Assad began at the Presidential Palace in Damascus on Monday. (Photo by Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa holds a speech at the National Dialogue Conference on Feb. 25, 2025 in Damascus, Syria. — Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images

BEIRUT — Syria’s National Dialogue Conference released its final statement on Tuesday, stressing the need to preserve the unity of the country and reject divisions while calling for the formation of a committee to draft a new constitution for post-Assad regime in Syria.

The two-day conference began on Monday at the presidential palace in Damascus and was hosted by Syria’s new administration. It gathered hundreds of people from across Syria including community leaders, academics and religious figures.

The attendees took part in six workshops to discuss key topics: transitional justice, constitutional building, institutional reforms, personal freedoms and political life, the role of civil society organizations and economic principles, according to the conference’s moderator.

One day after he was appointed president of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who also heads the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that led the rebel offensive against ousted President Bashar al-Assad’s forces late last year, vowed in a televised address Jan. 31 to hold a national dialogue that he said would serve as a “direct platform for discussions, to listen to different points of view on our future political program.”

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