Peace is at the forefront of the human values that all people seek to secure. Peace, by simple definition, means the absence of conflict, violence and war. It is a state of tranquility. The term ‘peace’ is used as an antidote to war and acts of violence between individuals, classes of society or between competing states. Even in times of peace, people enter into conflicts. But each community is distinct in terms of the type of conflict it experiences and the mechanisms used to achieve peace. With regard to Syrian society, our strategy is divided into two phases; the first one focuses on stopping the killing and violence, which means achieving instant peace. The second phase focuses on achieving a lasting, deep-rooted peace, which aims to achieve justice for all in order to halt the resurgence of violence in the future. Given the reality of Syrian society, we work on three different levels to achieve peace:
- Local peace, in which we work to resolve disputes that arise between local parties within a particular governorate or geographical area.
- Peace at the national level, which focuses on respect for diversity. What distinguishes Syrian society is its religious and ethnic pluralism. Throughout Syrian history, different ethnic, religious and tribal groups have coexisted in Syria. Therefore, we seek to achieve the proper management of this diversity in a way that preserves the diversity of these communities to express their differences in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
- Sustainable peace, which is based on justice, the restoration of rights, the accountability of perpetrators of violations, the pursuit of justice and the achievement of transitional justice. In 2013, CCSD’s team held 25 focus group discussions and 56 interviews to identify peace resources and mechanisms used to resolve and manage conflicts in nine areas of Syria and neighboring countries; 252 Syrians participated, including 77 women. This formed the basis for the research of Local and National Peace Resources, which was published by CCSD in 2014. In addition, CCSD developed the The Vision of the Center for Civil Society and Democracy on a Political Solution in Syria, based on discussions held between 20 CCSD staff and volunteers. The Vision was published in 2014.
Our Methods:
- Capacity building in conflict resolution and negotiation
- Supporting local initiatives
- Mobilization and advocacy
- Research