Refugee return to post-Assad Syria: the politics of protection

The Syrian displacement crisis remains one of the largest of our time. The question if, when, and how Syrian refugees might return has long dominated public and policy debates – both inside Syria and in regional as well as European host countries and donor states.

Such return debates predate the unexpected fall of the Assad regime in Syria in December 2024 but have peaked since then. This watershed moment has both rekindled genuine hopes for better return prospects and cynical pushes for premature return. It has further aligned the positions and interests of regional host country governments and European states and the EU in terms of return to Syria. The combined ambiguity and volatility of the return context and increasing political alignment in favor of pushing for return means that the voluntariness, safety, and dignity of returns remains under pressure.

This roundtable brings together scholars, NGOs and international organizations, and policy-makers to take stock of trends in and prospects for refugee return to Syria in the interconnected contexts of the Netherlands, Europe, and Syria and its neighboring countries. The roundtable takes an explicit protection perspective – foregrounding the rights and needs of Syrian refugees – and is meant to facilitate knowledge exchange around four core sets of questions:

1. What are the socio-economic developments and political and policy dynamics inside Syria enabling or challenging the return of internally displaced people and refugees?
2. What forms of pressure or coercion do Syrian people experience in relation to return and what are the related protection concerns?
3. How are policy developments in the Netherlands and Europe on the one hand and in regional host countries like Lebanon, Türkiye, and Jordan on the other hand related?
4. What forms of knowledge production, humanitarian programming, and policy can help enhance refugee protection and prevent premature or forced return?

• Nora Stel, Assistant professor, Centre for International Conflict Analysis & Management, Radboud University
• Ali Aljasem, Researcher, Centre for Conflict Studies, Utrecht University
• Tineke Strik, Member of the European Parliament, GroenLinks
• NGO-representative, tbc

The session is moderated by Mohammad Kanfash, practitioner and doctoral candidate, Centre for Conflict Studies, Utrecht University

Please register via kuno@kuno-platform.nl

The session is organised in collaboration with Radboud University.

 – Picture UNICEF –