Executive Summary
This report summarises the findings of the EU’s civil society consultations in advance of the seventh Brussels Conference on Supporting the future of Syria and the Region, which will be held on 14-15 June 2023.
The consultations took two forms: in-country consultations with civil society organisations (CSOs), and an online survey of Syrian individuals and CSO representatives in Syria and the wider region carried out on behalf of the EU by the Center for Operational Analysis and Research (COAR).
In-country consultations with civil society were carried out between March and May 2023 to identify recommendations and key topics for the Brussels VII Conference in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. These events, held both in-person and online, gathered representatives from NGOs, civil society, and international stakeholders to foster exchange and explore key topics within the Syria response for the upcoming year.
The survey was open from 19 April to 5 May and collected the opinions of 1467 CSO representatives and 595 individual Syrians across four key topic areas identified by the in-country consultations:
- Civic Space and Political Processes
- Basic Services in Syria
- Early Recovery and Livelihoods
- Displacement and Durable Solutions
Each topic area contained multiple questions to gauge the opinions of Syrian civil society on the effectiveness of the humanitarian response to the crisis in Syria, key challenges faced by civil society organisations, and priorities for the future. The results were analysed by COAR and are presented in this report, with comparisons between respondents based on location and whether they are CSO representatives or individual Syrians included where relevant. While results were also analysed by gender and age, there were no significant differences in responses between the different groups. The key findings for each topic area are summarised below.