Under the title: Building a Victim-Centered Investigative Mechanism for Afghanistan: Lessons from Victims and Civil Society Engagement in Syria and Myanmar, Fadel Abdulghany, SNHR’s executive director, will participate as a speaker in a high-level panel discussion on building a victim-centered investigation mechanism for Afghanistan, held on the sidelines of the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The event will address how to design investigation and accountability mechanisms that are rights-based, safe, and effective, drawing practical lessons from experiences of victim and civil society engagement in Syria and Myanmar. Abdelghani’s presentation will focus on Syria’s experience in documentation and victim engagement, including:
- Translating the participation of survivors and their families into applicable operational standards for evidence gathering and case building.
- Ensuring confidentiality, informed consent, and risk-sensitive participation to protect witnesses and affected communities.
- Strengthening cooperation between civil society and international mechanisms to preserve evidence and support credible investigations.
- Identifying institutional safeguards that protect victims from intimidation and reprisals, and enshrine accountability in the principles of no impunity.
Speakers:
- Michelle Jarvis, Deputy Head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism on Syria (IIIM)
- Dr. Huma Saeed, Transitional Justice Expert and Senior Afghanistan Advisor at MADRE
- Beatriz Balbin, Head of the Human Rights Investigations Branch, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
- Thembile Segoete, Senior Legal Officer, United Nations
- Fadel Abdulghany, Executive Director, Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR)
Session Moderator:
Mahmouda Sonia Eqbal, Human Rights Researcher and Board Member of the Centre for Dialogue and Progress – Geneva (CDP-G)
Date, Time, and Participation Details:
Date: February 27, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM–3:00 PM Geneva Time (CET)
Location: Room IX, Building A, Palais des Nations.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights emphasizes the importance of this type of comparative, practice-oriented dialogue, particularly when it places victims and survivors at the center as rights holders, not merely sources of information. Furthermore, exchanging lessons learned from different contexts (Syria, Myanmar, and Afghanistan) contributes to improving the design of investigation mechanisms, raising protection standards, and enhancing the credibility and legitimacy of accountability processes in post-conflict and ongoing crisis settings.
