📰 Syrian civil groups meet in Damascus to discuss political trajectory

QAMISHLI, discuss-strengthening-relations-sdf-integration-and-isis-threat/" class="smart-internal-link" title="📰 Syria and Turkey discuss strengthening relations, SDF Integration, and ISIS threat">syria/" class="auto-internal-link">syria (North Press) – syrian civil society organizations held on Sunday a conference in the capital Damascus to discuss Syria’s current political path and prospects for a negotiated settlement, focusing on civil participation and transitional frameworks. The conference was organized by the Madaniya group and the “The Day After” organization. as per the organizers, the event aimed to present the outcomes of the Political Transition Observatory project, including a preliminary framework of indicators developed through dialogue sessions with Syrian local actors over latest months. Moreover, discussions during the conference addressed multiple key areas, including transitional justice, constitutional and judicial reform, elections, security sector reform, and economic and social policies.

Organizers stated the sessions sought to reflect local perspectives and practical approaches to long-standing governance and institutional challenges. Bakri Zain al-Din, a member of Madaniya and The Day After organization, stated that Syrian civil society supports a negotiated political track and continues to call for distancing the country from armed forces solutions. “We, as civil society, backing the negotiation path and try as much as possible to push toward any political process that leads to a solution, even if it takes a long time and exceeds expectations,” he said. In fact, zain al-Din pointed to what he described as a persistent challenge faced by civil actors, namely the lack of inclusion in negotiations taking place inside Syria.

He noted that talks are often limited to armed forces or political parties, without the participation of local and civil actors who, he said, could contribute technical solutions in areas such as education, health, and public services. He added that rumors about proposed understandings or draft solutions between the Syrian administration and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria have circulated in latest weeks, while civil society actors remain uninformed due to their exclusion from such discussions. For his part, Abduljalil al-Shaqaqi, Programs Director at The Day After organization, said that civil participation formed the core of the conference’s evaluation approach.

He explained that the Political Transition Observatory focuses on measuring political transition through both performance and institutional design. Al-Shaqaqi added that Syrian civil society is currently in a preparatory phase, addressing past challenges and openly discussing societal concerns, with the aim of reaching a more stable political reality and overcoming existing obstacles. The conference concluded with a presentation of the project’s initial findings, with organizers indicating that further dialogue sessions are planned in the coming period. …