Syrian Opposition Coalition
General Assembly
March 22, 2023
The 66th meeting of the General Assembly of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) took place on March 20. The meeting commenced with a minute of silence to pay tribute to the victims of the earthquake and the fallen heroes of the Syrian Revolution. The President of SOC, Salem Al-Meslet, provided a political briefing and presented work reports for the past two months, including those of the Presidency, Vice-Presidents, and General Secretariat.
The General Assembly discussed a range of issues related to Syria, the latest international developments and related positions, political and field developments, refugee conditions, and the issue of some countries’ normalization with the Assad regime and ways to confront it.
Al-Meslet shared updates on his political activities, recent meetings, and field tours in the liberated areas, particularly after the earthquake in February. He emphasized that SOC had increased external communications after the disaster to help affected Syrians and secure appropriate aid for them.
The Vice-Presidents and the Secretary-General also provided their briefings, presenting work reports for the past two months. The General Assembly reviewed and evaluated the reports of the Syrian Interim Government and the Assistance Coordination Unit, in addition to those of departments, offices, foreign missions, the Syrian Negotiations Commission, the Constitutional Committee, and the Syria Recovery Trust Fund.
Badr Jamous, President of the Syrian Negotiations Commission, provided an overview of major developments in the political process and the series of meetings the Commission held with foreign officials over the past two months. During these meetings, the Commission called for more international efforts to achieve a political transition in accordance with UN resolutions, and to avoid ignoring the Syrian people to prevent making their situation more complicated.
The Assembly also discussed the political and humanitarian situation and international developments related to Syria, emphasizing the need to halt attempts at normalization with the Assad regime by some countries, particularly Arab countries, from which the Syrian people expect help to end their tragedy and regain their freedom.
The attendees referred to the positions of countries that rejected normalization and called for accountability, welcoming the joint statement recently issued by the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, which called for ensuring accountability in Syria. They also referred to the importance of sanctions on the Assad regime, including the new sanctions imposed by the European Union on the war criminal Bashar al-Assad and his regime for sexual violence. The attendees highlighted the significance of the US House of Representatives’ decision against normalization with the Assad regime, calling on the United States to ratify the decision for immediate implementation.
The participants criticized the United Nations’ performance in Syria, where it aligned with the Assad regime in exploiting the earthquake tragedy for political gain and provided considerable assistance to the regime, despite dozens of reports and evidence confirming its theft of aid and transfer to its militias.
They also discussed ways to alleviate the tragedy that befell the Syrian people, especially in the liberated areas, after the devastating earthquake last month and the damage to tents due to the recent torrential rains. They stressed the region’s need for more international support in all fields.
At the end of the meeting, the conferees reaffirmed SOC’s determination and commitment to the revolution until the Syrian people’s demands for freedom and dignity are met, and a pluralistic, democratic civil state is established, free from the rule of the Assad family and its security apparatuses.
May our wounded recover, our detainees be free, and our fallen heroes rest in peace.
May the Syrian Revolution emerge victorious.
