UNHCR’s head Fillipo Grandi made scandalous statements during his latest mission to Syria. In the first he openly admitted that UNHCR is coordinating with the regime of Bashar al Assad on the return of displaced Syrians and the creation of conditions for return of Syrian refugees from abroad. In the second he went even further, explicitly placing the faith in the Syrian regime to ensure security for returnees.
Fourteen members of the SACD Board of Trustees write: we aware that the horror and shock of the millions of Syrians are easy to ignore for most of the decision-makers drunk on the supposed supremacy of realpolitik over the notions of justice and rights. However, we must ask the question: what do those who think that normalisation of Assad is the solution to the Syrian nightmare believe will happen as a result?
The UNHCR must cease the misleading messaging on the “improving security situation” for returnees. It must improve communication, information, and counseling with displaced Syrians to ensure they are aware of all factors and conditions that might impact their returns decisions. Syria is not safe under the Assad regime. Syria is not safe for any returns.
It’s been six years since the Russian intervention in Syria, an intervention the Syrian regime and Russia like to term as “war on terror”, which in fact was never anything but a war on the Syrians themselves. After losing control of most of Syria’s territory, the Syrian regime was on the verge of collapsing. However, the Russian intervention drastically changed the balance of power on the ground, and air.
The latest agreement signed in Daraa is yet another example of the forced displacement in Syria perpetrated by Syrian regime and its Russian and Iranian allies to establish the goal of ‘useful Syria’ regardless of how outrageous and inhuman the price is.
The intention to leave the Syrian regime-controlled areas is growing rapidly, says the latest report by the Syrian Association for Citizens’ Dignity titled “Normalisation of Horror: Security and Living Conditions in Assad-held Syria.” This 91-page report sums up the outcomes of 533 interviews with Syrians living under Assad in different governorates and it comes as the fourth such report tracking perceptions and attitudes of both displaced Syrians and those who never left their areas.
