The Syrian Opposition Coalition’s (SOC) Caesar Act Follow-up Team held its first virtual meeting with members of the Office of the Special Representative for Syrian Affairs at the US State Department and thoroughly discussed the upcoming steps that will begin next month to implement the Act so as to contribute to ending the nine-year conflict between the Syrian people and the Assad regime and bringing about a democratic transition in Syria.
SOC’s members stressed the importance of cooperation between the SOC and the US Administration in order to ensure full implementation of the Caesar Act, including the issues of accountability and transitional justice. They expressed their hope that this meeting would be the beginning of a series of periodic meetings, partnerships, and coordination between the two sides to fully achieve the goals of the Act, most importantly to put an end to the suffering of the Syrian people and the violent crackdown they have been subjected to.
SOC’s members pointed out that implementing this broad Act will require a lot of work and effort, noting that the SOC’s Follow-up Team is made up of members working with various Syrian bodies, such as the Syrian communities in the diaspora, political parties, unions, and civil society organizations.
Putting the Act into effect will also require enormous efforts from all spectra of the Syrian people, opposition institutions, and forces of the revolution, the SOC’s members said, adding that the SOC’s Follow-up Team will draw up a plan for coordination and cooperation with the relevant Syrian actors.
The Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act focuses on two main elements: the imposition of sanctions on the Assad regime and its backers, and holding to account perpetrators of war crimes in Syria. (Source: SOC’s Media Department
