Najat Rushdie, briefing the United Nations Security Council from Damascus, said Syrian women have been underrepresented in the interim transitional process and called for clearer measures to ensure their participation and protection.

Rushdie noted the briefing coincided with the 25th anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325, which affirms women’s role in peacemaking and protection from gender-based violence. She said six women won 119 indirectly contested seats in the transitional People’s Assembly and highlighted low female representation within election bodies and administration.

The report of the electoral process, she said, included two women out of 11 members of the Supreme Committee for Elections and roughly 10 percent representation among 180 election administrators. Rushdie said the Supreme Committee for Elections itself acknowledged the share of women is inconsistent with the societal and political role that Syrian women have long played.

“The women of Syria remain this country's greatest asset. They remain invested and engaged in the political transition, and they want to engage further, much further,” Rushdie said.

Rushdie said Syrian interlocutors described the views of women as diverse but that an “overwhelming sentiment” among many women was that the processes and initial outcomes of transition have not matched expectations and prior commitments. She urged the interim authorities and civil society to build on lessons learned and to design future electoral processes to protect women’s rights and maximize opportunities for representation.

She also urged “a stronger legal and political stance against discrimination, and state action to ensure protection from harassment, threats and violence,” and called for Syrian women to be able to advocate on their own behalf.

Rushdie recommended that the transitional authorities incorporate clearer measures and strategies to prevent exclusion from leadership roles and stressed that the United Nations stands ready to support work to define an inclusive pathway for future elections.

The briefing also called for progress on accountability and transitional justice. Rushdie said national commissions had been appointed by interim authorities to address accountability, transitional justice and outstanding cases of missing persons, and she urged publication of the conclusions and follow-up of the National Committee for Investigation and Fact‑Finding into the coastal events in March.

Rushdie said such measures are necessary for Syrians to feel impunity is being addressed and to prevent recurrence. She framed electoral inclusion and accountability as complementary elements for a durable political transition.

Rushdie’s remarks came amid acknowledgements that some seats remain to be filled and that operational challenges — including civil registration and documentation — limit the scope for direct elections at present. She said some Syrian interlocutors criticized elements of the recent process as rushed, with last‑minute changes to procedures and low public engagement.

Looking ahead, Rushdie urged authorities, civil society and international partners to take steps to increase transparency, bolster participation of women and other communities, and to address legal and administrative barriers to inclusion. The United Nations, she said, is prepared to support those efforts.