Post-Assad Syria lays out priorities

Syria's national dialogue conference, held on Tuesday in Damascus, called for transitional justice, freedom and a state monopoly on arms to be among the cornerstones of the country's reconstruction after Bashar al-Assad's overthrow.

Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, in a speech earlier to the hundreds of attendees, said the country was at a "new historic phase" after more than a decade of civil war.

The closing statement, which is expected to be advisory rather than binding, included 18 points that "will serve as a basis" for the reform of state institutions and touch on Syria's political life, economy, defence policy and rights.

The statement read out by Houda Atassi, a member of the conference's preparatory committee, called for "a monopoly on weapons by the state" and a new professional national army.

Any "armed formations outside the official institutions" would be "outlawed", according to the statement -- an implicit reference to Kurdish-led forces and other factions that have refused to lay down their arms since Assad's toppling.

The statement also rejected "provocative statements" by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said his country "will not allow" Syrian armed forces to be deployed south of Damascus, and condemned "the Israeli incursion into Syrian territory".

It also rejected "all forms of discrimination based on race, religion or sect and the achievement of the principle of equal opportunities."

Civil society, religious communities, opposition figures and artists are represented at the hastily organised conference -- an initiative unheard of under Assad.

However, officials from the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration that controls swathes of the country's north and northeast criticised being shut out of the event, decrying "token representation" for minority groups.

The Kurdish administration said in a statement that it will "not be a part" of implementing the recommendations of the conference which "does not represent the Syria people".

Addressing the conference earlier, Sharaa said: "Syria has invited all of you today... to consult with each other on the future of your country." "Syria is indivisible; it is a complete whole, and its strength lies in its unity," the interim president declared, adding that "the unity of arms and their monopoly by the state is not a luxury but a duty and an obligation."

Sharaa also said authorities would "work on forming a transitional justice body to restore people's rights, ensure justice and, God willing, bring criminals to justice".