Mission and Objectives

Caesar Files for Justice (CF4J) is a non-profit organization aiming to restore rights and redress harm for all Syrians affected by the conflict in Syria, while implementing mechanisms to prevent the persistence of human rights violations. Our mission is to support international justice processes and provide legal evidence regarding human rights violations in Syria. CF4J achieves this through the work of activists, journalists, and human rights defenders working through several avenues:

  1. Documenting Crimes and Violations:

    1. Documenting information regarding detainees and forcibly disappeared persons.
    2. Securing protection opportunities for witnesses.
    3. Providing secure platforms for documentation.

  2. Supporting Transitional Justice Initiatives:

    1. Providing legal support for victims and their families to pursue justice.
    2. Investigating the fate of missing persons and those arbitrarily detained in Syrian official and unofficial detention places within Syria.
    3. Communicating and supporting courts’ filings operating under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
    4. Engaging in accountability and liability mechanisms.
    5. Facilitating access to justice tools and other resources for victims.

  3. Advocating with Policymakers and Stakeholders:

    1. Conducting briefings for civil society, the private sector, decision-makers, and international institutions regarding human rights violations to raise awareness.
    2. Advising policymakers and other stakeholders on policy solutions they can pursue to support efforts at transitional justice.

Values and Principles

CF4J is a human rights organization, independent of any political entity. We uphold the following values throughout our work:

  1. Objectivity: Commitment to accuracy and reliance on unbiased facts.
  2. Respect: Intolerance towards any form of discrimination, gender bias, or harassment, internally and externally.
  3. Transparency: Clarity in work execution mechanisms and dealings with target groups and partners.
  4. Responsibility: Adherence to internal policies and rules, and self-review and evaluation.
  5. Solidarity: Supporting partners who share our vision and values, advocating for human rights and civil liberties issues.
  6. Do No Harm: Ensuring no harm or damage to the team, victims, and partners.

Team History

Our organization’s core team consists of human rights advocates experienced in human rights work and advocacy. From 2011 to 2013, our team obtained a vast collection of Syrian Government official documents proving the involvement of the Syrian regime in systematic torture. After 2013, we collaborated with experts from the leading law firm Carter-Ruck to examine the credibility of the files, resulting in the release of a famous report on detainees and torture victims in Syrian regime prisons in 2014. Since then, our team has discreetly worked on cross-border justice paths, policy advocacy, and combatting disinformation campaigns. CF4J was reestablished in 2022 in France and has continued its activism and collaboration with international institutions, UN bodies, and governments.

Notable Accomplishments:

  • Documentation of Caesar Files (2019): Our team collected the photos establishing crimes against detainees in Syrian regime prisons and worked to verify their authenticity. These photos have been used as a basis to pursue several transitional justice initiatives and identify victims for their families.
  • Passage of Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act (01/2019): The US House of Representatives published a draft Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, partly driven by the Caesar photos.
  • U.S. Presidential Briefing on Syria (06/2019): The House of Representatives’ version of the Caesar Act was amended by the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
  • Additional Sanctions (06/2019): Statement of the Foreign Affairs Committee on the enactment of the Caesar Act for the Protection of Syrian Civilians for 2019 to impose new sanctions on Syria’s allies in various fields.