Return without guarantees: Syrian refugee return policies from neighboring countries

Despite more than fourteen years since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria, the country witnessed political shifts on December 8th that led to a change in the ruling authority. However, millions of Syrians still live in neighboring countries - Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq who host the vast majority of Syrian refugees in insecure and increasingly difficult conditions, targeted by governments and segments of host communities. As refugees, they lack clear prospects for return due to the absence of the necessary conditions for a safe and dignified return. Most of them often live without adequate support or resources1. As time passes, living conditions deteriorate, and they face increasing pressure to return to Syria.

In recent years, the Access Center for Human Rights (ACHR) has documented a rise in the number of forced returns of Syrian refugees to Syria. Refugees are often deported from host countries without prior warning, legal procedures, or an opportunity to legally challenge the decision. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is currently moving toward facilitating voluntary return in partnership with host country authorities, following political developments in the Syrian landscape, by launching voluntary return facilitation programs – offering cash assistance and providing transportation2; as recently seen in Lebanon and Jordan3. The UNHCR had previously declared that Syria remained unsafe for refugee return at the time these forced returns occurred. In its report, the agency stated that recent events in coastal areas, around Damascus, and in the south indicate that security challenges still exist in some areas and that the security situation has improved in general4, without asserting that the country has become truly safe.

It is worth noting that such practices cannot be ignored by the concerned states, nor can the feeling of safety among refugees themselves be disregarded, even when decisions claim that some areas are "relatively safe", which still do not meet the criteria for a dignified life. These states must respect their obligations under international treaties and agreements that clearly and explicitly call for the protection of human rights. Any direct or indirect pressure exerted by host governments to prompt return constitutes a violation of their international obligations to uphold the principle of non-refoulement.

None of the host countries, whether Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, or Iraq, provide adequate protection consistent with the internationally recognized rights of refugees under the treaties and agreements to which they are bound. Instead, these states have relied on national laws and policies in handling refugees, resulting in limited and weak protection guarantees. Over time, and amid the economic crises sweeping the region, anti-refugee sentiment has fueled local political agendas,5 and contributed to the escalation of violence against refugees, leading to increased calls for their return to Syria. Although the fall of Bashar al-Assad and the rapid political changes in December 2024 prompted many Syrians to return voluntarily, conditions inside Syria remain fragile and unsafe for large-scale individual or group returns. Since December 2024, several regions in Syria have witnessed attacks and provocative security incidents, including the deliberate vandalism and destruction of religious shrines, in addition to field killings in villages with Alawite and Druze majorities6, raising serious questions about the current security situation in Syria7.

This report assesses how and why these forced deportations from Syria’s neighboring countries are taking place. It draws on the testimonies of 16 Syrian refugees, some of whom were forcibly returned and others who returned voluntarily from Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq. Their experiences highlight the multi-dimensional challenges facing returnees, including insecurity, economic hardship, infrastructure destruction, and poor access to public services. Whether governments classify returns as voluntary or forced, these testimonies provide a deeper understanding of the conditions inside Syria and demonstrate how these circumstances often fail to meet the basic needs and rights of returning Syrians, as analyzed through their stories.

In this report, The Access Center for Human Rights (ACHR) seeks to shed light on the significant barriers and human rights violations experienced by Syrian refugees in host countries; violations they continue to suffer from to this day. The report sheds light on the dynamics of forced deportation of Syrian refugees – a dynamic that occurred during the Assad Regime and continues to occur following its fall – and how push factors in host countries shape decisions to return. Further, the report seeks to highlight the many and significant challenges Syrians face once they return and how Syria remains unsafe and insecure. Refugee voices are often marginalized, and their opinions are not taken into account when setting policies or making decisions. Therefore, this report aims to centers refugee voices as a foundation for developing appropriate approaches to refugee return in host countries. In addition, the report aims to raise awareness and support advocacy efforts to protect Syrian refugees from forced return from neighboring states and to highlight the lived realities of refugees. challenges they face upon returning to Syria.

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