Press release
Geneva – February 22, 2024
A damning report released by the UN Human Rights Office today reveals a disturbing reality for Syrians returning to their war-torn homeland. The document details gross human rights violations and abuses perpetrated by the Syrian Government, de facto authorities, and various armed groups across the country, targeting returnees with arbitrary detention, torture, ill-treatment, sexual and gender-based violence, enforced disappearance, and abduction.
The violations extend to extortion of money and belongings, confiscation of property, and denial of identity and other essential documents. While the entire Syrian population faces such abuses, the report emphasizes the heightened vulnerability of returnees, particularly women. The situation raises serious concerns about states’ commitment to due process and non-refoulement, according to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
Türk stresses the importance of not stigmatizing, discriminating against, or subjecting returnees to violence or abuse. He underscores that those remaining in host countries should be treated according to international law, respecting the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers and emphasizing voluntary returns under safe and dignified conditions.
Individual testimonies paint a harrowing picture, with one returnee describing violent arrest, blindfolding, and repeated beatings by local authorities’ security forces. Another woman, detained with her daughters, reported paying a $300 bribe for expedited release after being interrogated about her reasons for traveling to Lebanon.
The report highlights specific discriminatory restrictions on women returnees’ liberty and cases of women being compelled by male family members to assess conditions for the family’s return. Economic hardship, abuse, hostile rhetoric, raids, and mass arrests in host countries have forced many to return to Syria. Turkey’s announcement of the “resettlement” of one million Syrian refugees, coupled with increased restrictions and forced deportations, adds to the crisis.
Lebanon witnessed over 70 raids targeting Syrian refugee communities, resulting in the arrest of 1,455 Syrians and the deportation of 712 individuals. The report concludes that overall conditions in Syria do not permit safe, dignified, and sustainable returns, leading many interviewees to consider fleeing again despite potential economic hardships and harassment abroad.
The report calls on all conflict parties to fully respect international humanitarian and human rights law, urging the Syrian Government and other involved parties to grant UN entities and international organizations unhindered access to monitor returnees’ conditions. As the international community grapples with this humanitarian crisis, the report serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need to address the safety and well-being of Syrian returnees.
