Relief & Mental Health Services in Syria

Dear Friends,

Thanks to your continued generosity, the Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights has brought healing, justice, and dignity to thousands of survivors in Syria who continue to face the devastating effects of war, displacement, and loss.

In the past two years alone, together we reached over 42,000 people across Iraq and Syria—including thousands of Syrians who received trauma therapy, psychosocial support, and legal aid. Every number represents a person rebuilding their life after unimaginable hardship.

One of them is Noora, a Syrian mother who fled the conflict and lost her home and family. With Jiyan’s support, she began trauma therapy in our center, finding a safe space to process her pain and rebuild her confidence. “For the first time, I felt someone was listening,” she told our team. “Now I can sleep without fear, and I’m helping my children heal too.”

Our therapists in Syria work tirelessly to offer survivors what is often their first access to mental health care — helping adults overcome trauma and supporting children who have experienced violence, displacement, or loss. Through your support, we also delivered awareness sessions in communities to reduce stigma around mental health and train local professionals to respond compassionately to those in crisis.

In our newly published Biannual Report 2023–2024, you can learn more about how your donations made a difference:

• Thousands of Syrians received free trauma-informed therapy and legal support.

• Children affected by war joined psychosocial and educational activities designed to restore a sense of safety and belonging.

• Local staff and partners received training in mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), ensuring long-term care in their communities.

Your contributions continue to make this possible — bringing relief, therapy, and renewed hope to those who have endured years of conflict.

Thank you for standing with the people of Syria and for believing that healing is possible, even after the darkest times.

With gratitude,
The Jiyan Foundation Team

Read our Biannual Report 2023–2024:

Download the report.

Links:

• Publications

• Jiyan Foundation Biannual report 2023-24 (PDF)
  

March 1st 2025 marks four years since the Iraqi parliament passed the Yazidi Female Survivors Law (YSL) establishing an administrative reparation programme aimed at giving effect to survivors’ right to reparation. The law provides access to a variety of rights and benefits to harmed Yazidi, Turkmen, Christian, and Shabak women and girls and Yazidi boys kidnapped by ISIL as well as women and men from indicated components who survived mass killings carried out by ISIL.

The YSL mandates several critical reparative measures such as financial support; medical and psychological care; the provision of land, housing, education, and employment. Moreover, it officially recognizes that ISIL committed genocide and crimes against humanity, mandates memorialization, the search for those still in captivity, the opening of mass graves, identification of remains and their return to the families and calls Iraqi institutions to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable. The associated bylaws further extend these obligations, including developing specialized curricula on ISIL conflict to promote peaceful coexistence and renunciation of violence.

The Coalition for Just Reparations (C4JR) and the Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights are publishing the third More than “Ink on Paper” annual report evaluating the current stage of YSL implementation. We do this in good faith and with a view to ensuring that the YSL realizes its full potential and doesn’t remain, as some survivors had put it, merely ink on paper.

Four years on from its passing, we can celebrate the achievements of the YSL implementation, but also remain steadfast in pointing out its shortcomings. Most importantly, more should be done to ensure transparency around YSL eligibility parameters and improve access to the application and appeals process. Similarly, greater effort is needed to establish a sustainable state sponsored system for the provision of holistic rehabilitation services—that includes specialist psychological, medical, social, educational, vocational, and legal rehabilitation components—and to investigate and prosecute international crimes committed by ISIL. Finally, the search for more than 2,600 missing individuals remains a top priority for survivors, their families and communities.

With ongoing attempts to disrupt the international human rights and justice frameworks, ongoing conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, Democratic Republic of the Congo and elsewhere, as well as the regime change in Syria in mind, we must remind the international community, governments and relevant actors of all political colours, time and again, of the critical importance of reparations! Namely, reparations are the only transitional justice measure capable of, if properly implemented, directly facilitating survivors’ ability to repair their lives and realize their life plans. Timely access to comprehensive reparations can also alter the migration patterns in that flight will not be seen by survivors as their “best chance” in the struggle for self-determination and living a life with dignity. The YSL can, if properly implemented, serve as a roadmap or a gold standard that can be replicated in other post-conflict societies. Finally, instead of (only) building up military capacities’, states should prioritize investing in reparations, as the dividend of such investment will be peace.

Links:

• Third Yazidi Survivors' Law Monitoring Report