Dear guests and all who have taken part online and followed this important conversation over the last two days, thank you for contributing to this momentous event.

The message of this conference is clear: Safe, voluntary, and dignified return that achieves justice and sustainable peace the safe and neutral environment referred to in the context of UN resolution 2254 of displaced Syrians is the foundation of any sustainable solution for the Syrian crisis.

The ramifications of current inertia-driven approaches are clear for all to see in the increasing numbers of Syrians desperately trying to flee Syria itself and certain host countries, risking their lives in the attempt to reach the perceived safety of Europe.

The absence of a safe environment, as defined by Syrians themselves, is the main obstacle stopping displaced Syrians from returning to their homes, and hence, the main impediment facing any comprehensive and sustainable political solution that would also address the other main issues such as: detainees, war crimes and human rights violations.

Determining the conditions for a safe environment by the Syrians and setting up a realistic implementation mechanism in stages with the required international guarantees must be the main cornerstone of the political solution, and all the efforts of the main supporters of the political process must also be focused.

A safe environment is achieved when people feel safe, and this can only be achieved through achieving justice and accountability for those who participated in the killing of Syrians and those who committed violations against them.

Realistic programs aimed at revealing the fate of the missing, bringing the perpetrators to justice and holding those involved in compensation and reparations programs to account must be started. Actions, reforms and practical measures must also be taken to prevent the recurrence of crimes.

Measures and steps detailed during the last two days of this conference are not merely aspirational. They are realistic, minimal conditions that must be created over time for a mass, organized, safe and dignified return to become possible. The phased approach and gradual, incremental creation of a safe environment detailed in the “Roadmap for a Safe Environment in Syria” paper is modelled on experiences of other countries which have suffered displacement, with specific circumstances of Syria regarding the security, legal and humanitarian factors, including the scale of displacement and the fragmentation of the society, taken into account.

As the experience of other countries clearly shows, the safe environment in Syria cannot be created without a political agreement, robust international guarantees and presence to implement the agreement, and without the direct involvement of the displaced Syrians. The political process, moving forward, must accommodate our voices in a systematic way and avoid adulterating their representation under the pretext of appeasement to any party, internal or external.

Political will of key countries, including the United States, the European Union, Turkey and others, must be summoned to reset the political process around the issue of creating the safe environment in Syria, which would enable a safe, voluntary and dignified return. Previous failed approaches centered on appeasement of the Syrian regime and normalization of its repressive policies must be discarded and the interests of the majority of Syrians placed at the center of the future political solution.

Ad hoc, partial approaches to return, currently entertained by some agencies and organizations inside Syria must be recognized as dangerous to the wellbeing and interests of displaced Syrians and abandoned, replaced with a genuine effort to transparently report on the current reality and work on the creation of minimum conditions for return across Syria, as detailed in this document.

Displaced Syrians must be consulted and involved in designing concrete steps for implementation of the safe environment, as defined by them and guaranteed by a robust international presence.

This is the foundational basis for a safe and dignified return and a sustainable solution for the Syrian crisis.

On behalf of the organisers, we thank you for being with us during these two days. This conference is not the end but the beginning of a new phase in the conversation on Syria, a phase where the voice of displaced Syrians will be heard loud and clear in all the key decision-making forums.