In the past decade, civil society organizations in the Arab region have achieved significant improvements in performance and capacity to request change with respect to certain issues. However, that improvement was neutralized by an improvement in the capacity of the authorities to contain the voices of civil society and deprive its organizations of the human capacity necessary for their survival, by appointing their leaders and activists to ministerial, administrative and diplomatic posts, thereby dissuading them from claiming the integration of civil society demands into public policy.



Public social expenditure is indispensable, and its right mix as social investments and social protection measures would improve growth and human development toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The report provides thorough documentation of the impact of five years of violence and war on Syria’s economy, and pays special attention to the plight of refugees and the extent to which Western sanctions have succeeded, or failed, in achieving their proclaimed objectives.