Syria reconstruction deals lack human rights framework, says HRW

Billions in Pledges and Rebuilding Investments

Syria is emerging from over a decade of conflict that caused widespread devastation to cities, homes, and infrastructure. In October 2025, the World Bank estimated physical damage at $108 billion and average reconstruction costs at $216 billion. As the United States and European countries lifted sanctions that had frozen investment for years, the transitional government restored diplomatic ties and welcomed foreign capital, with Gulf states leading financial commitments.

Saudi Arabia has pledged $6.4 billion across real estate, infrastructure, telecoms, and energy, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar jointly cleared Syria’s $15.5 million in World Bank arrears in April 2025. Qatar has committed $4 billion, and the United Arab Emirates firm DP World secured a 30-year concession over the Tartus port. In the time since, grant-funded projects exceeding $1 billion have gained approval from the World Bank, alongside a technical cooperation initiative launched for Damascus by the International Monetary Fund. Among European partners, France, Germany, and Italy have emerged as active bilateral participants, with the European Union pledging €620 million for humanitarian aid and recovery in 2026 and 2027, alongside an investment conference planned for 2027.

Displaced Residents Face Destroyed Infrastructure and Unresolved Claims

Despite the financial momentum, conditions on the ground remain challenging for the millions of displaced Syrians returning home. According to an International Rescue Committee report from July 2026, over 3.5 million refugees and internally displaced Syrians have returned to their communities since December 2024. However, the International Organization for Migration noted in October 2025 that returns are often driven by deteriorating conditions in displacement camps, the end of aid, precarious legal status, and unaffordable rent rather than purely voluntary choices.

Returning residents are finding homes in ruins and basic services absent. In Jobar, an eastern neighborhood of Damascus, approximately 95 percent of buildings were destroyed, according to The Syria Report. In Ghadfa village in the Idlib countryside, residents who returned from displacement camps told Human Rights Watch in May 2026 that they lack running water, functioning electricity grids, adequate sanitation, operating schools, and nearby medical services. Noureddine Othman, head of Ghadfa’s municipal council, stated that the village now hosts an estimated 13,000 people—up from 8,500 before the war—with only seven houses out of about 1,500 retaining concrete roofs.

Legal Disputes Over Property and Wartime Redevelopment

Reconstruction projects are moving forward without meaningful participation from affected residents, and pre-war housing, land, and property claims remain largely unresolved. In Damascus, Decree 66, an Assad-era law issued in 2012, has been used to displace thousands of residents without due process or adequate compensation. While the Damascus governor suspended its implementation in October 2025 pending legal review, no presidential decree has resolved its status, and projects enabled by the decree continue to be marketed to investors. Law No. 10 of 2018 extended this framework nationwide, requiring residents to prove ownership within tight deadlines or forfeit their rights. Wartime redevelopment initiatives like Marota City and Basilia City are being repackaged as private-sector and foreign investment opportunities, managed by Damascus Cham Holding, a company established under the Assad administration. The Arab Reform Initiative documented that projects announced without community consultation have sparked protests and deepening distrust in Homs, Aleppo, and Damascus.

International Standards and Calls for Reform

Human Rights Watch emphasizes that Syria is bound by international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantee adequate housing, property rights, and effective remedies without discrimination. Human Rights Watch recommends that the transitional government incorporate binding community participation rules into planning, institute a moratorium on demolitions where ownership arrangements are unsettled, repeal or independently review Decree 66 and Law No. 10 of 2018, and prioritize the immediate restoration of public services in active return areas.

While Syria’s rebuilding efforts move ahead at a gradual pace, operating in the absence of a proper rights framework risks handing numerous Syrians an unfair arrangement. The rules currently being finalized will dictate which properties are restored, which ownership petitions are acknowledged, and whose perspectives are taken into account.

Hiba Zayadin, Senior Middle East Advisor at Human Rights Watch