Belgium has launched preliminary investigations into at least 10 cases of Syrians residing in the country suspected of having committed international crimes in Syria. In one case, an investigative judge was appointed. In this op-ed in the newspaper De Morgen, Brigitte Herremans and Tom Ruys welcome this long-due step, arguing that universal jurisdiction cases in the Syrian context have a global impact. They create a justice avenue that gives victims visibility, countering the invisibilisation of international crimes. To perpetrators they send a signal that they are no longer protected by impunity