Syria Workshop

September 2007

“There is no agreed definition of security… there is a danger that only one view premised on the needs of military and political security is being imposed on development workers where the view on security is based on the ability to deal with poverty, inequality and hunger as prime factors causing insecurity…”

A meeting organised in Damascus, Syria, provided an opportunity for parties from the regional CTM workshops to exchange ideas and share knowledge from each workshop with Southern counterparts.

Discussions included reports relating to updates of laws and a situational analysis of each country as perceived by participating CSOs. There was keen interest to share information and to devise strategies to protect civil and human rights which were being rapidly eroded as a result of the global security agenda.

Key issues discussed included:

• The repercussions of ongoing wars such as Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq and the effects of these on their neighbours such as those in central Asia, Syria and Lebanon.

• Major concerns relating to the use of the ‘War on Terror’ to silence domestic opposition and deny civic rights. This is especially the case in countries such as Pakistan and several in central Asia where opposition is being clamped down upon under the pretext of security threats.

•“Civil society is suppressed for political reasons but under the pretext of the war on terror and the fight against extremism, it may be warned, fined, suspended or banned…”. Sentiments such as these were common.

• Donor double standards about democratisation and governance, along with the resulting creation of donor darlings and donor orphans. The lawlessness of states and the use of state violence against its own civilians in countries as far apart as India and Palestine was also raised.

The views expressed in this section are those of civil society organisations in different regions, and do not necessarily reflect those of INTRAC.