Guardians of Equality Movement (GEM) Syria’s Firsts LGBTQIA+ Organization amidst a dearth of services to this community, operating in Syria and neighbouring countries. It was founded and led by activists from Syria, human rights defenders who are members of the LGBTQIA+ community, survivors, and victims who strive to prevent the recurrence of the suffering and violations that occurred against them and to protect others from them.
Guardians of Equality Movement (GEM) is dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQIA+ individuals who are regularly discriminated against/abused due to their sexual orientation and gender identity in Syria and throughout the global Syrian diaspora.GEM works to protect and advocate for the human rights at the social and diplomatic levels for all vulnerable Syrian LGBTQIA+ individuals regardless of political, religious or ethnic background.
Before the Syrian conflict, there was a gap in addressing the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community in Syria and promoting their basic human rights, and the consequences of this have been exacerbated since the outbreak of the conflict.
We aim to fill this gap through our programs and services targeting Syrians inside Syria and neighbouring countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
Our programs support the basic needs of Syrian LGBTQIA+ people, provide comprehensive protection services including in unsafe environments, in addition to programs documenting violations of LGBTQIA+ rights, and conduct research and advocacy campaigns to promote the rights of Syrian LGBTQIA+ people.
Guardians of Equality Movement (GEM) was officially founded on September 14, 2021 by LGBTQIA+ activists from Syria and worldwide. They realized the gap in the Syrian context regarding LGBTQIA+ issues at all levels of humanitarian work, human rights, civil society, politics, etc…
On September 14, 2021, the Guardians of Equality Movement (GEM) was officially established by its twenties founder, who survived two kidnappings and torture in 2016 and 2018 and faced a death penalty and haunting warrant in 2020 due to his work in human rights and equality. While working secretly to establish GEM in Idlib, northwest Syria under the control of some of the most radical groups he began to turn his idea into reality after being forcibly displaced from Syria following the death penalty. After a period of healing, he publicly revived the idea of founding the organization and invited a group of activists, experts, and survivors to join him in establishing the Guardians of Equality Movement (GEM). The firsts official founding meeting took place on September 14, 2021, while he was living as a refugee in Türkiye after fleeing Syria.
We are committed to addressing the needs of vulnerable LGBTQIA+ Syrians inside and outside Syria through our protection programs, research, and educational resources.
We also aim to change negative stigma and promote equality by spreading knowledge and raising awareness. We believe that the rights of the LGBTQIA+ Syrian community are human rights, and we have a responsibility to work to protect them and promote the principles of equality for all Syrians.
Through our persistent efforts to achieve equality and protect Syrian LGBTQIA+ individuals both inside and outside the country, while providing safe environments and promoting the principles of tolerance and acceptance through research and advocacy campaigns. We hope to expand our work to include all LGBTQIA+ individuals across the Middle East and North Africa.
Improving the lives and conditions of the Syrian LGBTQIA+ community and LGBTQIA+ rights defenders through:
Holistic protection and advocacy for the implementation of universal human rights principles.
Addressing stigma and discrimination in communities through our services.
Contributing to the available information and knowledge about the LGBTQIA+ context in Syria for all other stakeholders interested in positive change.
Influencing politics and changing Syrian law, representation in Syrian law.
Guardians of Equality Movement (GEM) is led and managed by local leaders from the Syrian LGBTQIA+ community.
We work based on the victim-centered approach, and we are led by victims and survivors.
We adopt a holistic approach in carrying out our operations and Program
We are not a political organization but we influence the policies 😉
We are not a political organization but we influence the policies 😉
GEM adopts awareness and advocacy for dialogue as its principles, rather than blame, attack, and revenge.
We express the democracy that Syrians aspire to.
GEM is licensed organization in Winnipeg MB/Canada
