Workshop on “Municipal administration and anti-corruption policies in Syria”

Dara’a, Syria, 19 – 23 February 2018


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
After almost 8 years of armed conflict, governance in Syria has almost completely collapsed. What remains is mostly driven by the needs of war rather than the needs of the population. Basic services such as food, electricity, shelter and heating, as well as security and justice, are managed and delivered throughout the country by a patchwork of different de-facto local authorities. Consequently, the governance systems and mechanisms which emerge from this patchwork are varied and operate out of sync with each other, leaving the civilian population exposed to the daily challenges of the conflict.
 
The forms through which towns and villages are managed vary area by area and are dependent on the presence of civil society, the level of civil activism and the attitude and role of armed groups. Nonetheless, a developed culture of consultation between local councils and governing bodies on the one hand and local communities on the other is lacking. While this is certainly a legacy from the period prior to 2011, the conflict has only worsened these conditions.
 
In the long term, local governance promotion represents one of the key elements on which Syrian civil society organisations can contribute to the future of Syria, in particular on issues and themes related to the rights of the State and the rights of the individual, and the relation between local autonomy, institutional devolution and local democracy.
 
Against this backdrop, No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ), in cooperation with Jusoor - Training Centre, is organising a workshop on “Municipal administration and anti-corruption policies”, to be held in Dara’a between 19 and 23 February 2018, to build knowledge and increase awareness on the basics of local administration and on the tools and mechanisms that could make governance processes more effective and efficient and develop local accountability mechanisms to measure performances and results of the local administrations.
 
 
Documentation:

 

For further information, please contact Gianluca Eramo (MENA Democracy program Coordinator) on geramo@npwj.org or Nicola Giovannini (Press & Public Affairs Coordinator) on ngiovannini@npwj.org.