Staking a claim to space
Madaniya conference

Thanks to an anti-Assad British-Syrian billionaire philanthropist, civil society organisations (CSOs) are beginning to speak with one voice. Ayman Asfari, an oilman with financial muscle and an impressive contacts book, has persuaded more than 150 CSOs to coalesce under one umbrella and under his chairmanship. The Madaniya (“civil”) initiative held its inaugural conference at the Institut Du Monde Arabe in Paris on 5–6 June after two years of preparation. 

The title of the conference (“The political entitlement of Syrian civic space”) suggests that there is no shortage of ambition. The organisers, however, are keen to stress that they are not encroaching on anybody else’s turf. “Reclaiming political agency (…) does not imply an intention to replace the existing Syrian bodies engaged in the political processes outlined by UN Security Council Resolution 2254”, reads the press release. “Rather, it seeks to complement their efforts.” This is code for: ‘we do not seek to supplant the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC)’ – a stance underlined by the invitation to speak extended to the SNC’s president; and a sensible position given that Turkey, the US and the Europeans wish to avoid any renewed intra-opposition bloodletting. 

The question remains: what exactly is the role that CSOs wish to “reclaim”? Asfari, who is said to have ambitions to enter formal politics himself at some point, says that CSOs, “have the legitimacy to have a voice on the pressing needs of the Syrian people and their future including supporting any political process.” The UN political process is currently stalled but it has existing structures that ensure a role for civil society, including the Constitutional Committee’s civil society third, the Women’s Advisory Board and the Civil Society Support Room. Western diplomats working on Syria spend half their time meeting and supporting CSOs. There is no shortage of “civil society voices.” 

Perhaps the reality lies elsewhere. “Asfari is keen on putting CSOs in his pocket so that when he meets a foreign minister he can say ‘I speak for these people,’” said one attendee, who asked not to be named. That might not be a bad thing. Having a liberal and pro-Western businessman of Asfari’s weight to provide a point of reference for CSOs, and perhaps the wider opposition movement, could be transformative. But the world of CSOs contains its own minefields. The future of Madaniya depends on whether idealistic visions can be translated into a real world action programme that appeals to civil society in diverse communities across the political divide.