The fall of the Assad regime four months ago offered cautious optimism that a path to longer-term recovery was finally emerging. However, this shift coincides with unprecedented cuts to global humanitarian aid, stress-testing already overstretched resources amid record-high needs. Renewed conflict in coastal areas underscores the fragility of the situation, with civilians continuing to pay the highest price.
Immediate, strategic, longer-term action is required to protect civilians, bring stability, and ensure communities do not remain trapped in cycles of band-aid emergency assistance. Sustainable approaches are also needed to enable Syrians to rebuild their communities, foster resilience, and self-reliance.
Fourteen years of conflict have devastated Syria, leaving more than 16 million people—almost 70% of the population—reliant on aid. Ninety percent live below the poverty line, and more than half struggle to find adequate food. Essential services remain critically lacking; key infrastructure such as Alouk Water Station and Tishreen Dam have left hundreds of thousands without access to water or electricity for months. Millions are without electricity, food, education, healthcare, or jobs. There is widespread contamination from explosive ordnance (EO) and war debris, with a 400% increase in injuries or fatalities from EO in the first two months of 2025 as communities move to or within heavily contaminated areas.
The long-standing impacts of sanctions have exacerbated Syria’s humanitarian crisis, restricting livelihoods and impeding longer-term recovery. NGOs acknowledge the steps taken to ease restrictions and urge continued efforts to address remaining barriers.
For those displaced by the conflict—both internally and across borders—there is now the possibility to return. However, while intentions to return have increased, structural, economic, psychosocial, protection, and legal barriers continue to pose significant challenges to achieving durable solutions. Without urgent investments to rebuild devastated civilian infrastructure and restore essential services, returns to uninhabitable or damaged areas could deepen poverty and further destabilize an already fragile situation. Protection risks remain widespread, with a staggering 400% spike in injuries or fatalities from landmines, unexploded ordnance (UXO), and war debris in the first two months of 2025 as communities move to or within heavily contaminated areas.
Syria needs more than short-term aid—it needs a meaningful path to stability and recovery. Brussels IX must deliver concrete action that ensures aid reaches those in need, supports essential services, and invests in long-term recovery.
The cycle of crisis must end. Syrians deserve the chance to rebuild their lives, and the time for decisive, coordinated action is now.
Sustained Financial Commitments
Support for creating conditions conducive to returns and reintegration must include sustained humanitarian action, restoration of basic services, and strengthening of systems. A strong conflict-sensitive approach is vital in supporting returns, reintegration, and host communities. Promoting self-reliance and resilience is essential for all communities. Aid must be swiftly disbursed, balancing humanitarian assistance with long-term recovery to prevent cycles of aid dependency. Funding for return programming must not come at the expense of support for refugees or host communities, both in Syria and across the region.
Immediate and Long-Term Investments in Service Delivery
A coordinated strategy that prioritizes long-term recovery while addressing urgent needs is vital. Donors should strengthen local governance, infrastructure, and access to essential services. Enhancing socio-economic support through targeted livelihood programs and improved access to essential services to reduce economic hardship— a key driver of tensions— is critical.
Housing, Land, and Property Rights
Without secure property ownership and restitution mechanisms, Syrians—particularly returnees—face risks of displacement, exploitation, and deepened social tensions. Funding must support mechanisms that preserve housing, land, and property (HLP) rights, as well as legal identity documentation, for displaced Syrians in both Syria and host countries. Programs must address specific barriers that women and children face in securing legal documentation.
Protection & Mine Action
Protection must be mainstreamed throughout all aspects of the response. Protection monitoring must be prioritized and rapidly scaled up. Data should be transparently and regularly shared among partners to safeguard returnees’ safety throughout their journeys. Enhanced coordination with regional refugee-hosting protection monitoring mechanisms is vital, while increased funding and support for demining are essential prerequisites for recovery efforts.
Locally Led Solutions
Barriers preventing local organizations from equitable participation must be removed, including in response coordination and leadership. Syrian civil society—at the forefront of the humanitarian response for many years—must have the right to engage in and lead future efforts. Coordination mechanisms must reflect the diversity of aid actors and integrate conflict-sensitive approaches that align with Syria’s evolving political landscape. At the programmatic level, donors and international agencies should demonstrate their commitment to local leadership.
Safe, Voluntary, and Dignified Returns & Maintenance of Refugee Protection
Syrian refugees must be given the time, information, and legal assurances to make informed and voluntary decisions about return. Host countries must uphold non-refoulement obligations, ensuring that refugees are not deported or pressured to return under unsafe conditions. Protections, including access to essential services and legal residency, must be maintained. Services for internally displaced persons (IDPs) must also be sustained to allow informed decision-making.
Stabilization of Syria and Addressing Social Tensions
Syrians must be given the opportunity to recover and reclaim control over their futures. To harness the potential of Syria’s shifting landscape, the international community must support a peaceful transition that is meaningfully inclusive of civil society, women, and Syrian communities. This requires a multi-pronged approach that strengthens local dialogue mechanisms to address grievances and prevent escalation while ensuring the inclusion of diverse community representatives.
Combating misinformation and divisive narratives should also be a priority, with a focus on fact-based public communication and community engagement. The international community must support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned transitional justice process as a cornerstone of stabilization efforts. Meanwhile, the government and local authorities should co-lead a robust awareness campaign on international humanitarian law (IHL) and civilian protection, with backing from humanitarian actors to maximize reach and effectiveness.
Issued on behalf of the Syria INGO Regional Forum (SIRF), the NWS NGO Forum, the NES Forum, the Syrian National Alliance, and the Syrian Network League, collectively representing over 150 NGOs working in Syria.
For inquiries, contact: info(at)sirf.ngo.
