Ensuring solid knowledge of International Human Rights is imperative for legal professionals to effectively engage with such mechanisms, including the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, the UN Commission of Inquiry for Syria (COI) and International, Independent, and Impartial Mechanism (IIIM), to ensure that locally-led solutions will inform a future transitional justice process.

In 2017, IBAHRI conducted in-depth consultations  with Syrian legal professionals and key actors from the international community, such as for instance the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, UN member states, and the Human Rights Commission of the Geneva Bar Association, to ensure broad buy in to maximise the engagement. This has resulted in the development of an engagement strategy for the Syrian legal community with UN human rights and accountability mechanisms. The strategy aims to ensure that Syrian lawyers play an active role in both engaging with UN human rights mechanisms to report and prevent violations, as well as in any future transitional justice processes for Syria.