UNOCHA noted that the main humanitarian challenges for returnees from abroad are damaged infrastructure, a declining economy, limited access to essential services, and scarce livelihood opportunities.944 Meanwhile, the main barriers to return cited in a 2026 UNHCR survey were limited access to housing (39 %) and basic infrastructure (including electricity and water) (35 %), lack of resources to return (34 %) and security concerns (32 %).945
According to an International Organization for Migration (IOM) assessment based on data collected between March and April 2026, the conditions in Idlib governorate were assessed as ‘mostly conducive’ (3.5) for the return and reintegration of IDPs and returnees. The conditions in Damascus (3.5), Tartous (3.4) and Aleppo (3.3)946 governorates scored the highest amongst governorates assessed as being ‘partially conducive’.947 In contrast, Hasaka (2.3), Raqqa (2.5) and Sweida (2.7) had the least conducive conditions. No governorate or location presented ‘fully conducive’ conditions for return and reintegration.948
Around 77 % returnees surveyed by UNHCR in the first quarter of 2026 reported feeling safe, while feelings of insecurity concentrated in areas affected by violence like Sweida, Quneitra, Raqqa, Tartous and Latakia governorates. Criminality was viewed as the main reason for not feeling safe (47 %).949
- 944
UNOCHA, Syrian Arab Republic: 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (April 2026), 2 April 2026, url, p. 13
- 945
UNHCR, Syria: Protection and Reintegration Insights. Voices of returnees and host communities across Syria (January - March 2026), 28 April 2026, url, pp. 10-11
- 946
IOM uses a five-tier scoring index to indicate the relative conduciveness of conditions for return and sustainable reintegration. The criteria assessed are: safety and security; adequate standards of living; access to livelihoods; housing, land and property; access to documentation. An unweighted average of the five criteria scores is calculated to produce a single composite index for each location, on a 0–5 scale, where higher scores indicate more conducive conditions for return and reintegration. IOM, Syrian Arab Republic — Communities of Return Index — Round 1 (15 March - 05 April 2025), 13 May 2025, url, p. 17
- 947
A score between 2.6 – 3.5 indicates that the conditions are ‘partially conducive’ – some conditions support return, but notable barriers remain.
- 948
IOM, Syrian Arab Republic — Communities of Return Index — Round 4 (1 January - 4 February 2026), 3 April 2026, url, p. 21
- 949
UNHCR, Syria: Protection and Reintegration Insights. Voices of returnees and host communities across Syria (January - March 2026), 28 April 2026, url, p. 13