SACD Newsletter

August 2022

Syrians have the right to know the reality in Syria before being asked to go back

A critical component of safe, dignified and voluntary return is access to reliable information about whether it is safe to return. This information helps the displaced understand whether their return conditions have been met, as well as the process involved. In particular, it might help highlight any inconsistencies between the process and their legal rights as refugees and IDPs to return home without fear of harassment or targeting.

A closer examination of one key mechanism used by the regime in dealing with refugees who are considering returning now shows that their sense of being informed about the conditions on the ground is utterly misguided. SACD surveys revealed a potentially dangerous lack of real information from those supposed to be informing them on all aspects of return conditions, including the UNHCR.

Statement on the comments of Turkish Foreign Minister Mr. Mevlut Çavuşoğlu

The Syrian Association for Citizens’ Dignity (SACD) affirms that the safe, voluntary and dignified return of the displaced Syrians to Syria can only be possible in light of the establishment of a safe environment that is based on the definition and vision of the displaced Syrians themselves. The Association stresses that the safe environment cannot be compartmentalized and must be achieved on all Syrian soil so that the displaced Syrians can willfully return to their cities and places of origin. 

Read full statement here

The Syrian south is boiling, and the Assad regime is trading drugs and killing its opponents.

The living and security conditions in southern Syria did not improve for the better after the settlement agreements with the Syrian regime entered into force in 2018, which were carried out under the sponsorship of Russia in the Daraa and Suwayda. In this context, The Syrian Association for Citizens’ Dignity recorded an exclusive interview with journalist Ayman Abo Noqta to find out the latest developments in southern Syria.

Kidnappings, murders, repression: Al-Suwayda reveals the price of normalizing Assad

As campaigns of arrests and enforced disappearances continue, kidnappings are on the rise in Al-Suwayda, and assassination attempts are rising day by day in Daraa. This is evidence that the Syrian regime’s guarantees and empty promises mean nothing in practice, Russia can never be a guarantor of peace in Syria, and there is no safe environment in Syria in which the displaced Syrians can return.

The primary and only beneficiary of the state of lawlessness in Al-Suwayda is the regime that controls the province. All indications are that its policies do not aim to achieve any peace or stability in Syria nor to establish a safe environment for the return of Syrians to their homes, but rather to secure complete control of the territory with negligible numbers of the original population.