The Syrian Civil  Coalition is a lobby of Syrian civil society organisations, activists and initiatives that provides visions and plans from the viewpoint of civil society. It believes that the best approach to solve the current Syrian conflict does not involve ending the conflict, rather turning it from a violent one into a peaceful one. SCC is made up of an open assembly of Syrian civil activists and organisations inside and outside Syria and has 64 member organisations.

Aims

• Aspires to build a culture of citizenship and dedicate the concept of human rights with a collective affective vision, and seeks the good of the Syrian people in rights, freedom and social justice through involving Syrian civil society in decision making and crystalising public opinion and creating fruitful initiatives.
• Seeks influence on decision-makers on policies, decisions and resolutions concerning Syria. It also aims to protect civil society and any regulations that affect it.
• Aims to enhance the role of public opinion in decision-making based on an awareness of civil rights and the importance of civil society work to protect these rights.
• Aims to raise the civil voice and turn it into a pressure card that plays a pivotal role in the decision-making process for Syrian affairs..
• Looking for a uniting discourse and common grounds in the transitional period and trying to distance activists from the current political polarisation.
• Seeks to empty civil work from its political content, but also works from a political perspective that is different from that of the other parties to create a political environment that harbours peaceful disagreement.

Description of activities

Areas of specialisation: governance, peace building, development and media.

• Works as a pressing bloc “lobby” on the authorities in political and human rights fields in order to protect the interests of citizens and organisations, and to oblige the executive authorities to apply its commitments, respect the law and not misuse of power.
• Puts pressure on international and regional actors involved in Syrian affairs to commit to the terms of international legitimacy when drafting any proposal or decision regarding Syria.
• Puts pressure on the international community to abide by the terms of the agreements related to Syria.
• Engages in dialogue with different decision-making levels to find equitable sustainable solutions in Syria.
• Strives to be the voice of marginalised groups, which represent the largest social carrier of national reconciliation (and to demonstrate by publishing the results of questionnaires and public opinion polls).
• Plays a proactive role in analysing problems and challenges that are facing the Syrian civil society, and spreads awareness and proposes mechanisms to address these challenges.
• Activates the role of the Syrian civil society in the planning and implementation of peacebuilding, national reconciliation, civil peace and reconstruction programmes.
• Raises public awareness about the role of civil society and the importance of the issues advocated by defending the interests and demanding the rights of Syrian civil society within the framework of international conventions and relevant domestic legislations.
• Enables Syrian civil society to contribute to the decision-making process.
• Works on four axes: peacemaking, peacebuilding and national unity; generating and spreading knowledge-based references; fulfilling humanitarian and developmental needs;activating governance in the civil society sector.
• Utilises NGO discourse about empowerment, governance and resolving conflicts.