Syria’s newly confirmed ambassador to the United Nations is a British-trained barrister and longtime critic of former president Bashar al-Assad, whose work to highlight Syrian human rights abuses has led him to capitals around the world.
Still in his early 30s, Ibrahim Olabi has already accrued considerable international experience, shedding light on the injustices of the Assad regime. The new envoy has delivered training on UN mechanisms and the coordination of humanitarian assistance (alongside workshops for Syrian activists on issues such as torture and forced displacement) and in 2017 was briefly Legal Advisor to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
A regular commentator on Syrian affairs in both broadcast and print media, Olabi has worked with national and international policing authorities and counterterrorism units, and addressed both heads of state and the UN Security Council. On 19 August, his appointment as Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York was formalised by Presidential Decree. So, who is he?
A regular media commentator on Syrian affairs, Olabi has addressed the UN Security Council and heads of state
Saudi-born, UK-educated
Born in Riyadh in 1993, Ibrahim Olabi has lived in exile since birth, after his father fled Syria for Saudi Arabia in the 1980s. He grew up in the Saudi capital, where he won an academic excellence award from Prince Saud Al-Faisal during his school years, before moving to the UK in 2011 to study law at university, first in Manchester, then at Oxford. He excelled academically, led the Arab Society at Manchester, and was elected as a delegate to the National Union of Students.
A Saudi-born Syrian national who also has British and German citizenship, Olabi will be the first person to represent the 'new Syria' at the United Nations. He has some convincing to do. Damascus wants to distance itself from al-Assad's history of rallying around socialist and anti-Western blocs. Al-Sharaa senses an opportunity to reintegrate Syria into the Arab and wider world, having shed the Iranian influence that defined his predecessor's tenure and rejected the socialist monopolisation of the state.
This moment presents an unprecedented opportunity for the West to redefine its relationship with a Syria that is reshaping its posture, and Olabi appears acutely aware of these shifting dynamics, having recently served as Legal Advisor to Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani on matters of international law.
French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with Ibrahim al-Olabi during the international conference on Syria at the Ministerial Conference Centre in Paris.
He played a central role in the international discussions over the dismantling of al-Assad's chemical weapons arsenal, participated in numerous high-level diplomatic meetings alongside al-Shaibani, led efforts to coordinate with international organisations on justice and legal accountability, and helped get the Syrian sanctions lifted.
Ten years earlier, in January 2014, he launched a programme dedicated to teaching essential legal skills to Syrian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) called the Syrian Legal Development Programme. Both in Syria and in neighbouring states, he trained more than 550 activists on issues like forced displacement, torture, UN mechanisms, and facilitating humanitarian aid. The programme won funding from the Swiss, Canadian, and Dutch governments.
As a barrister for the London-based Guernica 37 (G37) chambers, he has helped hold perpetrators of human rights violations in Syria to account, taking him across the globe, from Costa Rica to Japan and Sierra Leone, meeting ministers and policymakers to rally support. This was forthcoming, including from the US, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Mexico, Guatemala, Qatar, and Liberia.
In the UK, he worked with the Syrian-British Council (SBC) to engage the government and was part of the Dutch legal team that brought a case before the International Court of Justice against al-Assad over crimes of mass torture. He also spent time on the ground in Syria, specifically in eastern Aleppo, and happened to be in Idlib at the time of the chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun.
What is the overall situation in #Syria eight months after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad? @IbrahimOlabi, Legal Advisor at the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explains. #GNTpic.twitter.com/I9oy6xWM2W
Olabi has become a familiar media presence, appearing on many major news channels, speaking in both Arabic and English, but his ambassadorial appointment has ushered in a new phase with new challenges, as Damascus confronts a multitude of complex and interlinked problems. Olabi is tasked with helping to convince the world that Damascus is committed to justice, inclusivity, national unity, and a Ministry of Defence that exercises a monopoly on the use of force in the country.
Daunting to-do list
Of utmost political, economic, and security importance is the task of integrating Syria's autonomous north-east led by the Kurdish-dominated SDF. Al-Sharaa wants this to be voluntary, and the issue requires delicate handling. At the same time, the situation in southern Syria, particularly in the Druze-dominated town of Suweida, is complicated by Israeli military involvement waged under the pretext of protecting the Druze community.
Damascus also needs to eradicate terrorism within its borders, end Syria's lucrative Captagon (drug) production and smuggling industry, kick Iran out of Syria, and reach agreements to end Israeli interventions while addressing Tel Aviv's security concerns. Alongside these political objectives lie critical economic priorities, from reconstruction to the reconfiguration of Syria's old industries. A useful starting point would be for the oil revenue from the north-east to start flowing into central coffers.
Al-Sharaa knows that Olabi can be trusted to reflect the direction of travel and convince on issues that now lie at the heart of the new government's agenda. In becoming Syria's ambassador to the United Nations, Olabi follows in the footsteps of Fares al-Khoury, the renowned Syrian statesman who helped shape the country's post-independence trajectory following the end of the French Mandate in 1946.
Ibrahim al-Olabi attends the international conference on Syria at the Ministerial Conference Centre in Paris on February 13, 2025.
The political climate of al-Khoury's era has parallels today. Back then, Syria was emerging from decades of foreign occupation, with decisions imposed externally. Today, it is emerging from the shadow of Assad and his father, the family having seized Syria's internal decision-making and suppressed the will of its people under the guise of socialism and alignment with the Eastern blocs in opposition to the West.
Al-Khoury famously entered the UN hall in 1946 wearing a white suit and red Damascene tarboush, boldly taking the French delegate's seat for 25 minutes. This enraged the French representative, who lost his composure. Al-Khoury responded with words that became etched in Syrian political memory: "Mr Ambassador, I sat in your seat for 25 minutes, and you nearly killed me in fury. Syria endured the vulgarity of your soldiers for 25 years. It is time it gained its independence."
Historic moment
At the UN General Assembly this month, Olabi will enter the same chamber more than five decades after that seat was held hostage by a single family that ruled Syria according to its interests. Al-Khoury helped forge Syria; Olabi has helped transform it. This is an ongoing task far nearer the beginning than the end. It will require unconventional partnerships, and these must be patiently cultivated.
September could well prove to be the launchpad for these ambitious efforts. President Sharaa is expected to address the world from a podium no Syrian leader has stood at in decades, forging a new Syrian message. His words will be heard in both Arab and Western capitals. All eyes are now on the United Nations Hall, on Ibrahim Olabi, and on his boss. The stakes could hardly be higher.
