We have worked in Syria since 2013, supporting peacebuilders working towards a negotiated political transition. Since the start of revolution, there has been a dramatic rise in corollary conflict and violence in Syria. The resulting deterioration of law and order has enabled disputes and acts of violence between community groups to spiral out of control. For five years Peaceful Change initiative worked with Syrian organisations to convene and support a network of community-level leaders across the country who worked to prevent and manage local-level violence amid the Syrian war.
From 2018-2019, PCi’s focus shifted to working with Syrian actors to test the space for public debate inside Syria on issues of good governance and peacebuilding. This project was able to support Syrian organisations working inside government-controlled areas in Syria to initiate dialogue within their communities about what good governance could look like and what steps could be initiated to improve governance and human rights.
Since 2020 PCi has provided broad-spectrum organisational capacity building support to Syrians working directly within the international frameworks aimed at developing a negotiated political solution, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254. This work has taken place primarily in Switzerland. PCi has also provided conflict-sensitive assistance capacity building and reflection process for international donor governments, international aid agencies and Syrian NGOs.
Context overview
The peaceful revolution that began in 2011 quickly turned violent and descended into a full-scale civil war. In recent years the Government of Syria has made substantial military gains across country. However, Syria remains a country split into many different areas of control – some controlled by other countries, some by extremist military groups, some by different ethnic groups. Some parts of the country threaten to fall back into revolutionary action against the government.
Almost half of the Syrian population has been displaced by the violence, with millions of people displaced into regional countries and further afield into Europe. Syrians continue to suffer from human right abuses at the hands of the Syrian Government. Before the conflict, different ethnic and religious groups relief on and supported each other. The conflict has destroyed the social fabric of the country.
