Syrian returnees exposed to 'gross human rights violations and abuses,' says UN

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) - Many Syrians who fled their country’s war face gross human rights violations and abuses on their return home, a report by the UN Human Rights Office released Tuesday shows.

“This report paints an alarming picture of the suffering of returnees, in particular women, amid the increasing number of deportations of Syrians from other countries,” said UN rights chief Volker Turk.

Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the Human Rights Office, said at a UN press conference: “Economic hardship, abuse, increasingly hostile speech and rhetoric against refugees, raids and mass arrests in some host countries have compelled many to return to Syria.”

“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the overall conditions in Syria do not permit safe, dignified and sustainable returns of Syrian refugees to their home country,” Throssel added citing the report.

Most of the interviewees said they would flee again, even though, once back abroad, they would likely face precarious economic conditions and harassment, the report said.

Syria has been embroiled in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN estimates.

The report documents violations and abuses perpetrated by the Syrian government, de facto authorities, and other armed groups across the country.

They include arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment, sexual and gender-based violence, enforced disappearance and abduction.

- Money extorted

People have also had their money and belongings extorted, their property confiscated, and have been denied identity and other documents.

While the Syrian population as a whole faces such human rights abuses and violations, “returnees appear particularly vulnerable,” the report highlights.

“Those who wish to return and restart their lives in Syria must not be stigmatized, discriminated against, or subjected to any sort of violence or abuse once back in their home country,” Turk said.

One returnee said he was violently arrested once back in Syria and taken to an unknown location by local security forces, kept blindfolded for two days, and repeatedly beaten.

A woman returnee, detained for a week with her two daughters by government security forces as they tried to leave Syria for a second time, said her family had to pay a $300 bribe to speed up their release.

“I was interrogated daily and asked about the reasons for traveling to Lebanon,” she said, according to the report.

The report further highlights that women returnees face specifically discriminatory restrictions on their liberty to move freely and independently.​​​​​​​

In Lebanon, following months of increasing tensions and animosity toward Syrian refugees,

Lebanese security forces conducted more than 70 raids targeting Syrian refugee communities in camps and residential areas across the country in the spring of 2023.

At least 1,455 Syrians were arrested, and 712 of them were deported.

The report calls on all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian and human rights laws.

It urges the Syrian government and all other parties to the conflict to grant UN entities and other international and non-governmental organizations unhindered access to monitor the conditions of Syrians who return home.