International Organization for Migration chief Amy Pope said Tuesday the UN agency was not advising the large-scale return of refugees to Syria before the situation has stabilised after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.
“People have the right to return home… but we are not advising any sort of large-scale return… the system can’t bear that kind of influx,” Pope said.
“Absent an investment in Syria itself in terms of both humanitarian and these early recovery needs, sending people back will only destabilise the country further and will likely create pressures for people to migrate out again,” she told AFP during a visit to Lebanon.
A rebel alliance led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a lightning offensive on November 27, sweeping through swathes of territory and taking the capital Damascus on December 8.
Half of Syria’s population were forced from their homes during nearly 14 years of civil war, with millions finding refuge abroad.
The UN refugee agency said Tuesday it expected around one million people to return to Syria in the first half of 2025.
“Let’s focus on stabilising the situation on the ground in Syria now, before we start encouraging or forcibly returning people who have received asylum or have been living elsewhere,” Pope said.
Already, “since this most recent activity, we’ve seen about 100,000 people come back into Syria” from abroad, she said, with “another 150,000 or so who have moved back within the country itself”.
However, “tens of thousands” of people have fled Syria and “we are hearing that especially religious minorities are leaving”, she said.
Pope pointed to reports that members of the Shiite Muslim minority had fled “not because they’re actually threatened, but they’re concerned about the possible threat”.
Faith leaders in Damascus “said that their Christian communities remain quite concerned, although they haven’t yet left”, she added.
‘Extreme voices’
HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, now using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, has sought to reassure minorities at home and governments abroad that the country’s interim leaders will protect all Syrians.
Pope noted that the rebels “came to power because of a coalition of various armed groups”.
“Do they govern with the same kind of coalition?” she asked.
She said the international community was concerned about “ensuring that the most extreme voices who are part of that coalition do not destabilise a government that is more open and democratic and inclusive”.
She noted that “humanitarian needs are quite high right now — basic access to shelter, to food, to hygiene, water, sanitation, health… and over 16 million people are in need of some humanitarian assistance”.
An appeal for more than $4 billion has reached only 28 percent of its target and is “extremely underfunded” compared to the needs of “extremely vulnerable people”, she said.
Pope noted security was also an issue.
“We certainly as an international organisation would not be in a position to say that the government can guarantee the safety of people who are coming home, as much as their intent might be to create a more stable and secure environment,” she added.
Pope noted that neighbouring and European countries “are looking with real expectation at the Syrian communities, encouraging them to go home,” she said.
“There will be a time for people to go home” and many Syrians “very much want to go home, but we want them to be able to go home and stay home”, she said.
