The Civil Society Support Room (CSSR) Thematic Working Group (TWG) on ‘Local Governance and Decentralisation’ was established in September 2022 to leverage Syrian civil society’s broad range of experience and expertise on local governance and community participation working in different areas of control in Syria, and to enhance intra-Syrian civil society dialogue on the possibilities for local governance and decentralisation in the context of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2254.
The TWG consisted of 23 Syrian experts and practitioners on the topic of local governance and decentralisation in Syria. The group represented a broad spectrum of Syrian civil society operating from all the various parts of Syria and the diaspora.
The group was tasked with developing policy-relevant ideas, inputs, and recommendations for the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria (OSE-Syria) on the topic of local governance and decentralisation as a potential contribution to the political process, in line with UNSC Resolution 2254.
Following seven months of substantive collaboration through online sessions, at the invitation of OSE-Syria the members of the group met over three days in Geneva to finalise their work. The meeting concluded with the presentation of a summary of the discussions and key recommendations to the OSE-Syria team, International Syria Support Group (ISSG) members, and CSSR donors.