On 8 June 2021, the Institute’s Honorary Senior Advisor, Ambassador Nikolaos van Dam was invited to give a lecture at the World Affairs Council of the Desert on War Crimes in Syria.

The World Affairs Council of the Desert, a non-partisan and non-profit organization, provides a unique opportunity for the discussion of national and international topics. Its primary missions are education outreach, promoting and providing interesting and affordable programs in a social setting, and covering a wide range of global topics.

As the former Dutch Special Envoy to Syria and the Institute’s foremost expert on Syrian matters, Ambassador van Dam provided an in-depth look into how war crimes in Syria had manifested, the effect of the Syrian Revolution, and the steps that would need to be taken in the future to stop these crimes from occurring.

Click here to read Ambassador van Dam’s paper on War Crimes in Syria.

Ambassador van Dam’s paper was published in the Jordanian national newspaper, Ad-Dustour, in Arabic on 6 July 2021.

Click here to read the Arabic version of Ambassador van Dam’s paper

Following wide acclaim for Ambassador van Dam’s paper and lecture, on 21 September 2021, Joshua Landis of the Syria Comment, published a commentary on the lecture.

Click here to read the commentary on the paper by the Syria Comment