Syria: Protection and Reintegration Insights - Voices of returnees and host communities across Syria (January - March 2026)

Executive Summary

This report presents findings from 7,120 household interviews conducted across all 14 governorates in Syria during the first quarter of 2026. The analysis examines return dynamics, reintegration conditions, and protection risks affecting refugee returnees, IDP returnees, and host communities, against a backdrop of large-scale returns, economic deterioration, and renewed security incidents.

Since December 2024, an estimated 1.6 million refugees and 1.9 million IDPs have returned to Syria, primarily to Aleppo, Idleb, Hama, Homs, and Damascus. While 82% of returnees express an intention to remain in their current location, reintegration remains fragile and highly contingent on access to livelihoods, housing, and basic services. Recent regional instability—including cross-border movements from Lebanon and armed confrontations in northern and north-eastern Syria—has further strained already limited absorption capacity in areas of return.

Economic insecurity remains the dominant driver of vulnerability. Approximately 30% of respondents are unemployed, with most employment concentrated in informal and unstable work. Food insecurity and livelihoods are consistently reported as the top unmet needs across all population groups, followed by shelter. Returnees, in particular, face acute housing challenges due to property damage, high rental costs, and limited rehabilitation support. More than half of households reported reliance on negative coping mechanisms, including depletion of savings, de-prioritisation of essential needs, and, to a lesser extent, child labour and child marriage.

Protection risks remain widespread and multidimensional. Explosive ordnance (EO) contamination continues to pose a grave threat, with 239 EO incidents recorded in Q1 2026, resulting in 153 fatalities and 299 injuries, disproportionately affecting men and children. While some operational progress was made through the lifting of administrative barriers affecting mine action partners, clearance needs remain immense and far exceed current response capacity, underscoring the need for sustained investment and strengthened national clearance systems.

Legal and administrative barriers, particularly those affecting issuance of civil documentation, continue to constrain access to services, education, and freedom of movement. Documentation gaps were reported by 19% of refugee returnee households, with civil registry backlogs and limited institutional capacity persisting in several governorates. Housing, land, and property (HLP) disputes and damage further undermine tenure security and pose barriers to sustainable return.

Women and children face heightened protection risks. Gender-based violence continues to be reported predominantly within the household, driven by economic stress, overcrowded living conditions, and entrenched dependency dynamics. The proportion of female-headed households remains high, particularly among recent returnees from Lebanon, increasing exposure to exploitation and violence. Children’s protection concerns are equally pronounced, with uneven school attendance driven by poverty, child labour, lack of documentation, and displacement-related barriers.

Psychosocial needs are widespread, with 47% of respondents reporting stress-related symptoms and 31% unable to access support services, primarily due to service unavailability, lack of information, and affordability barriers. Existing mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services remain limited in scope and coverage, with insufficient access to specialised care.

Overall, despite strong return intentions, sustainable reintegration in Syria remains constrained by persistent economic hardship, protection risks, legal barriers, and limited service delivery. Addressing these challenges requires integrated, area‑based responses that prioritise livelihoods, shelter rehabilitation, civil documentation and HLP support, mine action, child protection, gender-based violence prevention, and expanded mental health and psychosocial support as a key enabler of safe return and reintegration, alongside sustained investment in national and local institutional capacity.

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