CIVICUS discusses Syria’s political transition and its implications for refugees with a representative of the Access Center for Human Rights (ACHR) who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons. Founded in Lebanon in 2017 and re-established in France in 2020, ACHR is a refugee-led civil society organisation (CSO) that monitors and document human rights violations and advocates for refugee rights in host countries and their voluntary, dignified and safe return to their country of origin.

Six months after the fall of longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has established a temporary constitution and a transitional cabinet dominated by people drawn from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist militant group, but also including technocrats, representatives of minorities and former Assad-era officials. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for September but the transition has brought uncertainty for civil society and millions of Syrian refugees, with refugee resettlement efforts facing challenges that include inadequate legal safeguards, crumbling infrastructure and persistent insecurity.

What challenges does Syrian civil society face?

Significant conversations are happening among CSOs in exile about whether they should go back to Syria and register there. They would need to establish an office, open a bank account, complete a great deal of paperwork and spend a significant amount of money. But there are many uncertainties, such as whether it is safe to return and how their families will adapt after living abroad for over 10 years. It isn’t clear what will happen with bureaucratic procedures and the extent to which civic space will be respected.

Many CSOs are still based in Lebanon, because when the war started the country was relatively welcoming to Syrian CSOs. But over the past few years the situation has changed: it has become more difficult to register organisations and set up bank accounts, and the government is now actively trying to silence and pressure refugee-led organisations.

What are the problems with current refugee return policies?

The United Nations (UN) Refugee Agency claims that over 1.4 million displaced people have returned to their homes in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime: more than a million who were internally displaced and some 400,000 who were staying in neighbouring countries. However, reliable data on cross-border refugee returns is limited due to host government restrictions. Localised UN monitoring activities are relatively limited and do not have a presence on irregular routes.

Returning refugees face serious dangers. Reports highlight problems that include damaged housing, disputes over property ownership and unexploded bombs still scattered across many areas. Meanwhile, host countries such as Jordan and Lebanon are using Syria’s political changes as justification to pressure refugees into leaving, even though conditions remain unsafe. Ways they are doing this include threatens to evict refugees and withholding of important documents, creating a false choice where refugees feel forced to return under the pretence it’s ‘voluntary’ when in fact they have no real alternative.

What are the concerns about elections and refugee participation?

Syria’s first parliamentary elections under the new government will be held in September. The details are still unclear, but it seems 140 members of parliament will be elected in a democratic process by regional electoral committees, with the remaining 70 to be appointed by al-Sharaa. In other words, it’s not clear how much of a say voters will have.

But whatever the breadth of choice, millions of Syrian refugees still abroad must be able to participate to ensure elections are inclusive. Historically, Syrian law has allowed Syrians abroad to vote at embassies, but this system has serious flaws. Refugees need valid passports with Syrian exit stamps – which most don’t have – and many still fear attending Syrian embassies due to intimidation they previously faced by regime officials. Under Assad, over 80 per cent of refugees surveyed said they wouldn’t feel safe voting at Syrian embassies because the government used them for intelligence operations against dissidents abroad.

The millions of Syrian refugees still abroad deserve a voice in determining their country’s future, but this requires the creation of safe and accessible voting mechanisms that actively ensure their inclusion in political systems.

How can the international community help?

There is so much other states can actively do, but the obvious and essential point is that no return can be safe, voluntary and dignified unless conditions inside Syria change. You can provide refugees with all the information in the world and treat them with the utmost dignity in host countries, but if they are returning to a place where they have no home, no access to basic services and no safety, then the return simply cannot be considered safe or dignified.

We support the removal of particular sanctions by the European Union and the new US administration that are not directly tied to human rights abuses. We hope to see active contributions from the international community towards improving civic space in Syria and encouraging states to respect international law and uphold their obligations not to return refugees to countries where they face persecution or other dangers.