Executive Summary
The new UN Special Envoy for Syria (SE), Geir Pedersen, recently reiterated his commitment to continuing to consult widely with Syrian civil society through the Civil Society Support Room (CSSR) on issues regarding the UN-facilitated political process in Geneva. A meeting held in Erbil from 23 to 24 February 2020 brought together 27 Syrian civil society interlocutors. The meeting included one-on-one meetings and group discussions with the Political Affairs Officer of the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria (OSE-Syria), and closed-door discussions among the CSSR participants.
Initially, during discussions with the OSE-Syria the participants expressed their concerns about the stagnation of the peace process. Participants reviewed the outcome of the discussions in working groups, focusing on the positive and negative aspects of the CSSR process. They then discussed the most prominent values and principles governing the work of Syrian civil society organisations and individuals and defined the mechanisms for developing the CSSR consultation process. Finally, participants agreed on criteria for selecting people to participate in the CSSR process and for transmitting the views of the Erbil CSSR to the regional and Geneva consultations.