Reports & Papers

This paper proposes to explore the role played by the different representations of land and shows how the co-presence and competition between these different conceptions shape public action on precarious settlements.

This article proposes to show the recent evolution of policies regarding informal settlement in Damascus, the social views and visions that fuel them and the role played by the concept of social mixity in the different urban planning approaches present in Damascus today.

This article discusses policies towards informal settlements in Syria before and during the uprising with a special focus on the case study of urban policies in the metropolitan area of Damascus.

This 64-page report focuses on the voices, experiences, and opinions of Syrians to establish whether the conditions in Syria are suitable for facilitating the return of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

This 62-page report aims to provide readers with an up to date, accurate picture of the current demographic makeup in northern Aleppo and outline the status and risks that this population face in security HLP rights.

This 48-page paper examines the question of how the EU and its member states can adjust their approach to Syria in such a way as to better align it with the current realities and challenges on the ground, bring Europe’s instruments into line with its interests, and make best possible use of the narrow available leeway.

This 36-page report provides relevant information regarding the situation of returnees hailing from Syria within the framework of international protection status determination.

This 48-page report documents cases of large-scale demolitions across the cities of Damascus and Hama and considered as unlawful.

This 22-page paper provides a detailed account of relationship between the city of Damascus and its north-eastern outskirts, over which the capital was unable to effectively impose its will due to lack of sustainable policies policies.

In this study, the Voices for Displaced Syrians (VDSF) and the Operations and Policy Center (OPC) undertook a first-of-its-kind research project to establish the minimum frequency and types of violations experienced by returnees throughout the whole-of-Syria, informed by their perspectives and experiences.

This 24-page report explores the key challenges that Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) face to access civil documentation and HLP rights from a durable solutions perspective, including in the context of returns to Syria.

This 9-page paper elaborates on the issue of Housing, Land and Property rights (HLP) in the conflict and post conflict periods in Syria, particularly concerning reconstruction and informal settlements.

This 35-page anthology contains five true stories told by Syrian women throughout 2019 and 2020 as part of NRC and UNDP’s work on women’s Housing, Land and Property (HLP) rights in Syria.

This three-part series looks to unpack and analyze the nature of HLP rights violations in Syria.

This 148-page study presents the most significant HLP-related issues that have accumulated in each region in the pre- conflict stage and lists the military changes that have occurred throughout.

This 13-page report addresses the various steps the international community needs to urgently take to address HLP rights violations and avoid complicity in these crimes.

This 20-page paper analyses the role businesspersons have been playing in displacement and HLP rights abuses, and its impact on the Danish programme, in particular in the thematic area of “Peacebuilding and Justice”.

This 14-page paper goes into the intentional changes to law and policy regarding property rights during the war has led to asset losses for members of groups opposed to the government and created a barrier to property restitution and the return of these groups.

This 20-page paper presents a case study of the housing, land and property (HLP) situation for local and displaced persons in the Syrian region of Afrin since the Turkish-led ‘Operation Olive Branch’ was launched in January 2018.

This short paper discusses the restitution of property as the cornerstone of any post-conflict agreement in Syria. While this will be a complex exercise, argues the author, adherence to the UN’s Principles on Housing and Property Restitution for Refugees and Displaced Persons (Pinheiro) Principles is set to be critical.