HLP

In this report, The Syria Report summarises a selection of the housing, land, and property issues it covered in depth throughout the first six months of 2022. These issues, which were featured in dozens of articles, can be categorised into the following main themes: 

On October 15, pro-regime media reported that 800 displaced families had returned to Maaret Al-Numan, located in the rural Idlib governorate. A ceremony was reportedly held for their return, attended by state and Baath Party officials. But when the ceremony ended, most returning families left the destroyed city, according to a correspondent for The Syria Report in the area, as extensive damage to homes and infrastructure has rendered Maaret Al-Numan uninhabitable. 

Earlier this month, the government raised the prices of basic imported commodities, putting more financial strain on Syrians who are unable to keep pace with the rising cost of living.

When the various institutions belonging to the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria expropriate privately owned lands for public benefit, they compensate the original owners only if the latter demands such payments. The lack of laws about expropriation and bodies to regulate the process contribute to this phenomenon.

Under Decision No. 991, issued on October 3, 2022, the Damascus governorate has agreed to grant “permits” for restoring, reinforcing, and rebuilding parts of licensed real estate properties in the Qaboun residential area.

This 64-page report focuses on the voices, experiences, and opinions of Syrians to establish whether the conditions in Syria are suitable for facilitating the return of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

This 36-page report provides relevant information regarding the situation of returnees hailing from Syria within the framework of international protection status determination.

This 15-page article examines how the Syrian authorities limit the issue of land management to the GDCA when they should consider its ecosystem and include other institutions; how Law 3/2018 negatively impacts the return of displaced people; and a controversy between the local administration and the security services concerning the law’s implementation.

In this study, the Voices for Displaced Syrians (VDSF) and the Operations and Policy Center (OPC) undertook a first-of-its-kind research project to establish the minimum frequency and types of violations experienced by returnees throughout the whole-of-Syria, informed by their perspectives and experiences.

This 24-page report explores the key challenges that Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) face to access civil documentation and HLP rights from a durable solutions perspective, including in the context of returns to Syria.

This 9-page paper elaborates on the issue of Housing, Land and Property rights (HLP) in the conflict and post conflict periods in Syria, particularly concerning reconstruction and informal settlements.

This 35-page anthology contains five true stories told by Syrian women throughout 2019 and 2020 as part of NRC and UNDP’s work on women’s Housing, Land and Property (HLP) rights in Syria.

The State Security Department’s General Intelligence recently sent the mukhtar of a town in Rural Damascus a list of names of 70 displaced residents. Although the issuance of the list suggests that the intelligence agency had no objection to their return, it does not necessarily mean that returns will occur anytime soon.

Syria’s Public Assets Collection Law allows the General Commission for Taxes and Fees, part of the Ministry of Finance, to transfer private real estate to state ownership if the original owners fail to pay the necessary taxes and fees. The law was promulgated by Legislative Decree No. 341 of 1956 and its amendments.

In August, Decree No. 13 of 2022 was issued, granting extensive tax concessions and exemptions within old city centres in the Aleppo, Homs, and Deir-ez-Zor governorates, including the historic souks.

In Syria, security approvals are still required for some real estate transactions and other related transactions, such as public and private power of attorney. 

This three-part series looks to unpack and analyze the nature of HLP rights violations in Syria.

This 148-page study presents the most significant HLP-related issues that have accumulated in each region in the pre- conflict stage and lists the military changes that have occurred throughout.

This 13-page report addresses the various steps the international community needs to urgently take to address HLP rights violations and avoid complicity in these crimes.

This 20-page paper analyses the role businesspersons have been playing in displacement and HLP rights abuses, and its impact on the Danish programme, in particular in the thematic area of “Peacebuilding and Justice”.