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In partnership with The Day After (TDA), Madaniya is launching a comprehensive national dialogue track aimed at rethinking the role of civil society—and Madaniya specifically—in monitoring and advancing indicators of democratic transformation during Syria’s political transition. The initiative seeks to strengthen the political agency of civic actors and reaffirm their central role in rebuilding both the state and the social fabric on the basis of democratic and civilian principles.

Madaniya and the Syrian Forum co-hosted the first Syria Sanctions Policy Program workshop at Chatham House, bringing together experts and officials from the UN, EU, UK, and US. The two-day event explored ways to strengthen sanctions against the Assad regime while minimizing harm to civilians and advancing accountability.

WASHINGTON, DC – March 13, 2024 – The Atlantic Council, the Middle East Institute, and the European Institute of Peace, in partnership with Madaniya Civil Society Network, are launching the Syria Strategy Project. The year-long project will engage subject matter experts and policymakers in the US, Europe, and the Middle East to develop a holistic strategy to sustainably resolve the Syria crisis.

This roundtable, hosted by Madaniya, SCAN UK, SRG, and the FCDO, examines the future of early recovery in Syria. Syrian civil society voices highlight the shortcomings of current strategies—especially OCHA’s Early Recovery approach—and propose a principled, inclusive path forward. Centering CSOs and local realities, the discussion explores risks, challenges, and opportunities to build a more accountable recovery process.

On 12 September 2024, Madaniya, together with leading Syrian civil society organizations, convened a press conference in Brussels to respond to escalating violence against Syrian refugees and renewed diplomatic engagement with the Assad regime. The event highlighted the risks of current policies that overlook core humanitarian, human rights, and political challenges, calling instead for principled, rights-based approaches to Syria.

On November 21, 2024, Madaniya briefed the UN Security Council during its official session on Syria. This session focused on the political process and the role played by Syrian civil society.

The Chairman of Madaniya, Ayman Asfari, and the Chief Executive Officer of Madaniya, Sawsan Abou Zainedin, met with the Head of the Interim Administration, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Asaad Al-Shaibani, at the People's Palace in Damascus, on Saturday, January 4, 2025.

Recognizing the importance and complexity of the justice file in Syria as a shared national issue, and believing in the necessity of uniting efforts among all national stakeholders to play their effective role in this regard, a group of civil society organizations, victims' associations, and families of survivors who have worked for years on the justice file, leveraging extensive experience in this field, held a comprehensive in-person meeting in Damascus on January 24 and 25.

A delegation of Syrian civil society organisations, victim associations, and the Syrian Foreign Ministry met with the French Foreign Minister on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting on Syria, which was held in Paris with the participation of Arab and Western countries.

On February 12, 2025, Madaniya organized an event at the Arab World Institute under the title "Justice and Accountability in Syria’s Political Transition".

Brussels - March 17, 2025

Madaniya and a delegation from Syrian civil society participated in the 9th Brussels Conference: Standing with Syria. Among the key points raised in the intervention of the Syrian civil society delegation were: