The crisis resulting from over a decade of violent conflict and ensuing economic crisis in Syria has resulted in over half of the population displaced, fragmentation of the country and breakdown of many important social networks and institutions. Communities and families continue to suffer increasing interpersonal conflict related to housing, land, divorce and domestic challenges, and rights of women. On a larger scale, these disputes are destabilizing and may prevent Syria’s overall recovery. International experiences and best practices from similar crisis contexts have demonstrated that the institutionalization of collaborative dispute resolution (CDR) mechanisms provide an efficient approach to enable disputing parties to exercise their rights while increasing trust and cohesion at the community level.

This paper presents research conducted by UNDP to improve the understanding of existing and accepted types of community mediation. The piloting of the CDR mechanism has proven the value of an out-of-court mechanism through which disputes may be resolved in an efficient manner while enabling many Syrians to embrace their rights and engage in peaceful resolutions, contributing to improved social cohesion and longer-term recovery for the community. It illustrates how building social cohesion through improved access to justice and community-based resolutions effectively contributes to overall peace.