The call for a "safe, calm, and neutral environment," as articulated in UNSCR 2254, occupies a critical role in the quest for stability and peace in Syria. Initially, the term described the kind of environment that a Transitional Government Body (TGB) would need to advance the political transition and organise free and fair elections. In light of setbacks in the political process, the UN nowadays calls for a safe, calm, and neutral environment to emphasise the need for a stable ceasefire and steps from all sides to transform the conflict environment and foster conditions conducive to progress on political negotiations, early recovery assistance, and safe, voluntary, and dignified IDP and refugee return.

The SCNE concept can be seen as a conflict management tool that is rooted in UNSCR 2254. By putting currently unsolvable questions of national legitimacy and power sharing on the back burner, attention of the Syrian conflict parties and international actors can be brought to bear on more practical issues that can be addressed productively. The major goal is de-escalation and improving the lives and prospects of Syrian civilians trapped in a continuing conflict.

This can be accomplished by building up on the manifold web of relations that exists between communities and across Syria’s divided territories despite, and sometimes because of, the conflict. These relations circle around civilian travel, education, and the flow of trade, aid, and investment. A SCNE seeks to improve these relations and amplify them with complementary stabilisation programmes within the different areas of control. The intended result, following a Triple Nexus rationale, is to improve the lives of Syrian civilians while creating conditions in which trust and confidence can gradually develop.

The panel will examine the political significance and evolving dynamics of the SCNE concept. It will discuss how civil society can operationalise it as a unifying rallying call for all Syrians —regardless of loyalties — that preserves the unity and social cohesion of Syria and makes a political solution in line with UNSCR 2254 more likely.