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Deputy Special Envoy Claudio Cordone briefing the Security Council from Damascus, 22 July 2026. (UN:Eskinder Debebe)
Deputy Special Envoy Claudio Cordone briefing the Security Council from Damascus, 22 July 2026. (UN:Eskinder Debebe)

UN hails Syria’s milestone in political transition while addressing areas of fragility

23 July 2026.  Briefing the Security Council, the UN’s envoy for Syria praised the establishment of the People’s Assembly and the Supreme Constitutional Court, while warning that Israel’s incursions, terrorist activity, and shortages of humanitarian aid could threaten the recovery.Read more at: SYRIAN OBSERVER

Supreme Constitutional Court President, Dr. Issam al-Khalif (L.), takes the constitutional oath before Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R.) in Damascus, July 11, 2026. (Syrian Presidency) Photo: SANA
Supreme Constitutional Court President, Dr. Issam al-Khalif (L.), takes the constitutional oath before Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R.) in Damascus, July 11, 2026. (Syrian Presidency) Photo: SANA

Syria’s new Constitutional Court becomes source of legislative guidance

15 July 2026.  Emerging as a stabilizing force, Syria’s Supreme Constitutional Court is assuming an independent advisory role, focusing on shaping a legislative framework while enshrining the rights of the People’s Assembly to legislate and formulate decisions.Read more at: ENAB BALADI

People’s Assembly building in Damascus, as the new parliament is formed. (SANA)
People’s Assembly building in Damascus, as the new parliament is formed. (SANA)

Completion of new People’s Assembly membership marks milestone in Syria’s transition to democracy

2 July 2026.  With 70 appointments by the president, adding to 137 elected members, Syria’s transitional parliament is complete. The appointees include figures from diverse spheres of Syrian life, including 15 women, plus individuals who suffered years of detention and loss of limbs in Syria’s liberation struggle.Read more at: SANA

Presiding Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan and fellow justices overseeing historic trials of former regime officials in Damascus (L), Bar Association head Muhammad Ali al Tawil (R). (SANA)
Presiding Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan and fellow justices overseeing historic trials of former regime officials in Damascus (L), Bar Association head Muhammad Ali al Tawil (R). (SANA)

Syria’s legal authorities uphold accountability under law as path to justice, not revenge

17 June 2026.  While Syrian people yearn for swift justice for the Assad regime’s atrocities, legal experts support transitional justice, based on evidence-based fair trials, as the way to reconcile accountability with social stability. Thousands of former military and security officials have been detained and trials have begun.Read more at: SANA

Officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates held a workshop in Damascus to review an anti-terror strategy. (SANA)
Officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates held a workshop in Damascus to review an anti-terror strategy. (SANA)

Syria’s programs reflect “an ethical pledge and steadfast national vow” to prohibit torture

8 June 2026.  Syria’s Foreign Ministry held a workshop with government ministries, the UN, and victims associations to review a national strategy to prevent torture, used by the former regime as “…a brutal machine designed to spread terror, break spirits and crush the humanity of Syrians.”Read more at: SANA

Solar projects across Syria gain momentum as renewable energy becomes critical. (L24)
Solar projects across Syria gain momentum as renewable energy becomes critical. (L24)

Syria accelerates shift to solar power as reconstruction drives demand for reliable energy

4 June 2026.  Syrian households, businesses and farms are increasingly turning to solar energy as an affordable solution to chronic electricity shortages. Imports of Chinese solar panels grew significantly in the spring of 2026. Agreements with Saudi and US firms are slated to greatly expand renewables.Read more at: LEVANT 24

Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani announces progress with disposal of chemical weapons. (SANA)
Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani announces progress with disposal of chemical weapons. (SANA)

Syria reports major progress in uncovering and dismantling deadly chemical weapons of ousted regime

29 May 2026.  Foreign Minister al-Shaibani announced that Syrian teams had managed to locate and secure materials from Assad’s chemical weapons program, working with OPCW inspectors. He spoke of prosecutions and commitment to transparency in building a safer nation and more stable region.Read more at:  SYRIAN OBSERVER

Voters cast ballots in parliamentary elections in Hasakah province, northern Syria, May 24, 2026. (SANA)
Voters cast ballots in parliamentary elections in Hasakah province, northern Syria, May 24, 2026. (SANA)

Parliamentary elections in former Kurdish areas allow launch of People’s Assembly 

25 May 2026.  Elections of members to Syria’s Peoples Assembly took place in the largely Kurdish northeast regions of Hasakah and Aleppo provinces, after security-related delays. The political integration of SDF forces into Syrian state structures enables the People’s Assembly to begin its legislative work.Read more at: LEVANT 24

Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Kabawat, and World Food Program Country Director, Marianne Ward, sign an agreement to launch the T-Anmu (I Grow) social protection program. (SANA)
Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Kabawat, and World Food Program Country Director, Marianne Ward, sign an agreement to launch the T-Anmu (I Grow) social protection program. (SANA)

First national program is launched to aid vulnerable families through nutrition

18 May 2026.  Syria’s Social Affairs and Labor ministry and the World Food Program opened the “T-Anmu” (I Grow) initiative, supported by France and Switzerland, aimed at building an integrated, just and sustainable social protection system with a focus on Syrian families with malnourished children.Read more at: SANA

Head of CENTCOM (US Central Command), Adm. Brad Cooper, testifies to US Senate Armed Services Committee on post-Assad Syria, 14 May 2026. (AFP)
Head of CENTCOM (US Central Command), Adm. Brad Cooper, testifies to US Senate Armed Services Committee on post-Assad Syria, 14 May 2026. (AFP)

US military commander testifies to Congress that Syria is “center of gravity” in regional fight against IS

16 May 2026.  The leader of the US Central Command, head of military operations in 20 Middle East and Asian countries, sees Syria as pivotal to shifting the Middle East from a zone of chaos into a zone of trade and stability, and he linked Syria’s stability to US security. He said the US is engaging with the Syrian government to “support a settlement that preserves dignity in the post-Assad phase.”Read more at: ENAB BALADI

Dr. Zahra al-Barazi, Transitional Justice Advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and member of the National Commission for Transitional Justice. (SANA)
Dr. Zahra al-Barazi, Transitional Justice Advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and member of the National Commission for Transitional Justice. (SANA)

High-profile perpetrator of war crimes captured in major advance toward justice

26 April 2026.  The capture of Amjad Youssef, responsible for 288 deaths during Syria’s war, marks a major step in the government’s pursuit of transitional justice, said Dr. al-Barazi, explaining that it opens the way to holding the chain of command accountable for atrocities committed by the previous regime.Read more at:  SANA

Abdulhamid Alkhalifa, director-general of the OPEC Fund for International Development and Syrian Finance Minister, Muhammad Barnieh in Washington, DC. (L24)
Abdulhamid Alkhalifa, director-general of the OPEC Fund for International Development and Syrian Finance Minister, Muhammad Barnieh in Washington, DC. (L24)

Syria seeks renewal of international programs cancelled under old regime

19 April 2026.  During the annual spring meetings of the world’s major global financial institutions in Washington, Syria’s Finance Minister met with the World Bank, IMF and OPEC’s Fund for International Development to restart programs rescinded under the previous regime and present new initiatives.Read more at:  LEVANT 24

Dr Zaher Sahloul

About the Kurds by Dr Zaher Sahloul

The decree issued by President Ahmed al-Sharaa is a historic decree, similar in importance to the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin. The Proclamation has the potential to end discrimination against the brave and dignified Kurdish people, who represent an essential component of the Syrian fabric. Read More at: Dr Zaher Sahloul…

White Helmets sacrificed their lives to rescue people from bombed out buildings during Syria’s civil war. (Syria Civil Defense Archive)
White Helmets sacrificed their lives to rescue people from bombed out buildings during Syria’s civil war. (Syria Civil Defense Archive)

White Helmets shift from emergency rescues to helping Syria recover from wreckage of war

14 April 2026.  Recognized for their heroism and self-sacrifice in Syria’s war, voluntarily rescuing people from the rubble of bombings, their role expanded to meet other emergencies. Now, as part of the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management in June 2025, they are helping rebuild the country.Read more at: SANA

Syria and UN convened workshop to strengthen 2027–2030 framework for sustainable development goals. (SANA)
Syria and UN convened workshop to strengthen 2027–2030 framework for sustainable development goals. (SANA)

UN team and Syrian government outline three-year development plan

7 April 2026.  Syria and UN partners discussed priorities for Syria’s sustainable development, with a focus on President al-Sharaa’s “Syria Without Camps” initiative, which aims to close camps for displaced people and enable their safe return to dignified living conditions in their home communities.Read more at:  SANA

Ahmad al-Sharaa (formerly known as al-Jolani) celebrating HTS’ overthrow of the Assad regime, Damascus, 8 December 2024. (ISPI)
Ahmad al-Sharaa (formerly known as al-Jolani) celebrating HTS’ overthrow of the Assad regime, Damascus, 8 December 2024. (ISPI)

UN Security Council removes HTS from sanctions list in ongoing international policy shift toward Syria

28 February 2026.  The UN Security Council removed HTS from its ISIS and Al-Qaida sanctions list, clearing a final legal obstacle that was viewed as hindering Syria’s transition. The move, supporting the new government’s progress, lifts a 10-year freeze of assets, a travel ban, and arms embargo.Read more at:  LEVANT24

Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa speaks at international symposium in Ankara. (SANA)
Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa speaks at international symposium in Ankara. (SANA)

Syria’s Information Minister calls for shift from ‘war journalism’ to ‘peace journalism’

26 February 2026.  Speaking in Ankara at an international symposium on media policies in conflict zones, Syria’s Minister of Information urged a move toward reporting on root causes of conflicts and highlighting prospects for solutions, rather than relying on coverage of destruction.Read more at:  SANA

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yosr Bernieh (center) meets with an International Monetary Fund delegation visiting Syria, February 17, 2026. (Syrian Ministry of Finance:Telegram)
Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yosr Bernieh (center) meets with an International Monetary Fund delegation visiting Syria, February 17, 2026. (Syrian Ministry of Finance:Telegram)

IMF underscores signs of recovery in Syria’s economy, praising economic reforms

26 February 2026.  The IMF delegation reported a recent increase in economic activity, due to rising consumer and investor confidence plus the continued return of refugees. The agency sees a promising economic outlook for 2026, depending on continued internal reconciliation and regional reintegration.Read more at:  ENABBALADI

Community members gather in al-Hasakah, northeastern Syria, as 51 detainees are released in an area formerly under SDF control. (Enab Baladi)
Community members gather in al-Hasakah, northeastern Syria, as 51 detainees are released in an area formerly under SDF control. (Enab Baladi)

Syria is in a phase of “forgiveness and rebuilding,” says local governor upon releasing detainees under Presidential Amnesty

21 February 2026.  The SDF-affiliated governor, appointed as part of SDF’s integration into the state, termed the release of 51 prisoners “a step toward positive integration into society.” He called upon those released to contribute to “serving their communities and strengthening stability.”Read more at:  ENABBALADI

Minister of Information, Hamza al-Mustafa, unveils a new media code at event titled “Professional Media, Responsible Word.” (Syrian Observer)
Minister of Information, Hamza al-Mustafa, unveils a new media code at event titled “Professional Media, Responsible Word.” (Syrian Observer)

More than a thousand journalists contribute to professional and ethical code for Syria’s media

16 February 2026.  The Ministry of Information introduced a new media framework promoting responsibility, accuracy, and self-regulation. It aims to protect press freedom, elevate professional standards, and rebuild public trust in the country’s rapidly evolving media sector.Read more at:  SYRIAN OBSERVER