Pressure is mounting from certain European Union countries to reclassify Syria as a “safe country,” disregarding continuous warnings from international human rights organizations and UN reports concerning the severe risks faced by Syrian refugees forcibly returned to their homeland. These efforts align with the goal of some European countries to ease their domestic burdens related to hosting refugees, with little regard for the consequences of this decision on Syrian lives. For more than a decade, Syrians have suffered severe human rights abuses at the hands of the Assad regime and other parties.
Since the conflict erupted in 2011, around 13 million Syrians have been internally and externally displaced, making Syria one of the world’s leading sources of refugees. However, the rising costs of hosting refugees along with the economic pressures brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and other national crises have driven certain European countries, including Italy, Denmark, and Austria, to advocate for re-evaluating Syria’s classification and labeling it a “safe” country as they simultaneously adopt stricter policies towards Syrian refugees.
In its 2021 report, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria stated that Syrian authorities have engaged in “torture and ill-treatment” of returnees, documenting cases of torture and killings in detention centers.
However, reports from the United Nations and international organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, confirm that individuals returning to Syria, whether voluntarily or forcibly, face the risks of torture, arbitrary detention, and enforced disappearance since they are often treated with suspicion concerning their loyalty to the Assad regime. In its 2021 report, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria stated that Syrian authorities have engaged in “torture and ill-treatment” of returnees, documenting cases of torture and killings in detention centers.
According to Commission statistics, thousands of cases of enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention have been documented, including cases involving women and children. Amnesty International’s report titled “You’re Going to Your Death” confirmed that dozens of returnees faced torture, with recorded instances of detention and disappearance involving 66 individuals, including women and children—an apparent attempt to intimidate returnees and strengthen the regime’s control over the country. In this context, the Syrian Network for Human Rights has documented numerous cases of arrest, torture, and enforced disappearance among Syrians forcibly returned from Lebanon, confirming that several of these returnees were detained upon arrival, subjected to abusive procedures often ending in torture or disappearance, in direct violation of international refugee protection laws.
The Assad regime is more than willing to exploit refugee returns to serve its interests. In the face of an economic crisis stemming from years of war and international sanctions, the regime views the return of Syrians as a potential source of income and a means to pressure the international community into easing sanctions under the pretext of “stability restoration” and “reconstruction.” Reports indicate that Syrian authorities directly exploit returnees, demanding hard currency through entry fees and insurance costs, and confiscating property belonging to those who had been absent for extended periods.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) asserts that returning any refugee to Syria constitutes a violation of the principle of non-refoulement, safeguarded by Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights
Despite the potential dangers lying in wait for returnees, the Syrian regime continues to use refugee returns as a tool to enhance its international image, promoting an “orderly return” narrative and proposing fictitious reconstruction projects, even as the Syrian economy collapses and most Syrians live below the poverty line. According to a recent UN report on Syria, over 90% of the Syrian population lives in poverty, underscoring the depth of the internal crisis. Within this context, attempts by certain countries to repatriate refugees emerge as provocative steps that neglect the true state of affairs within Syria.
The stance of European judicial institutions on deportation
In light of these pressures, European judicial institutions maintain a firm stance in support of protecting Syrian refugees from forced deportation. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) asserts that returning any refugee to Syria constitutes a violation of the principle of non-refoulement, safeguarded by Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits subjecting individuals to the risk of torture or inhuman treatment. Recently, the ECHR issued a ruling against Denmark, warning against forcibly deporting Syrians and relying on UN reports that underscore the “significant risk” faced by returnees to Syria.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) likewise supports this position, emphasizing that Syria’s ongoing conflict renders it impossible to ensure the safety of returnees and asserting that labeling Syria as a “safe country” is incompatible with the EU member states’ commitments to upholding human rights and ensuring a dignified life for refugees.
Why Syria remains a dangerous country
Several objective factors make it difficult, if not impossible, to classify Syria as a safe country. First on the list is continuing human rights violations by the regime which have been documented in many international reports. Second is the deteriorating security situation in areas under regime control which frequently experience terrorist attacks and armed clashes between various factions, rendering them unstable. Third is the severe nationwide economic crisis in which 80% of the population lives below the poverty level making day-to-day life for returnees untenable due to the shortage of basic services, including healthcare, education, water, and electricity. Last but not least are the Assad regime’s mandatory military conscription and harsh security measures that result in young returnees being targeted for compulsory military service, putting their lives at risk when forced into active duty in the kind of combat operations that drove many of Syria’s refugees out of their homeland in the first place.
Political trends among EU member states
Italy, Denmark, and Austria are among the nations advocating a reclassification of Syria as a “safe country,” motivated by internal pressures to reduce refugee numbers. Denmark has been notably proactive in this regard, designating some areas in Syria as “safe” for return, a classification subsequently rejected by UN reports describing Syria’s conditions as “entirely unsafe.”
UN and human rights organization reports consistently demonstrate that conditions within Syria remain highly unstable, with the Syrian regime exploiting refugee returns unabated to serve its own interests
In Italy, debates over Syrian refugee repatriation have intensified, fueled by a rise in anti-immigrant sentiment amid the country’s economic challenges. The Italian government has taken stringent measures to determine eligibility for asylum while viewing some areas in Syria as potentially suitable for return.
The perils of embracing a false stability narrative
The notion of repatriating Syrian refugees under the pretext of restored stability reveals a stark disregard for the harsh reality faced by Syrians. UN and human rights organization reports consistently demonstrate that conditions within Syria remain highly unstable, with the Syrian regime exploiting refugee returns unabated to serve its own interests even as the population suffers from severe hardships.
The international community must recognize the dangers of prematurely labeling Syria as a safe country as such a classification risks endangering the lives of Syrian refugees and stands in direct opposition to the core values of the European Union and the international community concerning human rights and refugee protection.
As this magisterial article underlines, there are too many dangerous contraindicators for any Syrian to even entertain thoughts of returning to their homeland. It is unacceptable that host countries are actively pushing out their Syrian refugee populations, knowing, if they have half-decent security services, what the Syrians will encounter when they set foot back on Syrian soil. The Syrians have no agency, they are not allowed to chose what they want to do. They did not choose to become refugees, in order to save their own and their families’ lives they were forced to flee #Assad’s and Islamist forces’ depredations. If I were a Syrian parent I would not consider returning, with my family, to the country that arrested Syria’s former Chess Champion, Dr. Naila Abassi, her husband and six, repeat six, children, ten years ago. There is no evidence that the parents were ever charged with offenses against Syria, yet this family is among the unknown numbers of “disappeared” in Syria. The country signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. #Assad has callously and deliberately placed Syria in flagrant violation of this Convention. Additionally, Syria is a narco-state. It defies logic that I, and especially any Syrian would willingly walk inside the lion’s mouth, placing adults and children in danger from drug lords and their enforcers, in addition to #Assad’s ruthless spies, informers, shabihha and armed gangs. The world has failed Syrians.