HRW: Syria’s reconstruction deals lack rights safeguards

Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned that Syria’s transitional government is moving ahead with signing multibillion-dollar reconstruction deals without a legal framework to protect the rights of affected residents and ensure their participation in decisions concerning their homes and land. The organization called on the government, donors and investors to put rights safeguards in place before expanding recovery and reconstruction projects.

In a report released today, the organization said the transitional government unveiled a national recovery plan in March 2026, followed by international pledges worth billions of dollars for aid, financing and investment. However, the legal frameworks governing reconstruction do not require the government or developers to consult affected local communities, including areas whose residents remain displaced, before projects are approved.

It added that compensation mechanisms should be based on negotiation, with an independent body established to allow residents to challenge decisions concerning their property.

Heba Zayadin, HRW’s senior Middle East adviser, said Syria’s reconstruction process was “moving slowly,” but could harm the rights of many Syrians in the absence of a rights-based framework. She said the legal rules currently being developed would determine “whose homes are rebuilt, which claims are recognized, and whose voices are heard.”

The organization noted that the scale of needs far exceeds what is currently being implemented. The World Bank estimated in October 2025 that the financial damage caused by the war amounted to around $108 billion, while estimating average reconstruction costs at approximately $216 billion, with a range of $140 billion to $345 billion. By contrast, Saudi Arabia has pledged $6.4 billion in investments in real estate, infrastructure, telecommunications and energy, while Qatar has committed $4 billion. The UAE-based DP World has also secured a 30-year concession to operate the port of Tartus.

The World Bank has approved grant-funded projects worth more than $1 billion, while the European Union has pledged €620 million for humanitarian assistance and social and economic recovery in 2026 and 2027.

Despite these pledges, the organization said actual investment remains far below the announced figures, while meaningful disbursements from international financial institutions are contingent on the completion of governance and legal frameworks. In areas where residents have returned, housing and basic services crises persist. The organization said residents of Ghadafa village in the Idlib countryside returned to find themselves without running water, a functioning electricity network, adequate sewage systems, functioning schools or nearby medical services.

According to an International Rescue Committee report cited by HRW, more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees and internally displaced people have returned to their communities since December 2024. However, some returns were not entirely voluntary, due to deteriorating conditions for displaced people, the suspension of aid, rising rental costs and insecure legal status. Meanwhile, around 5.5 million people remain internally displaced, while the UN’s Syria Humanitarian Response Plan had received just under one-third of the funding it required as of mid-2026.

The organization also addressed property disputes, particularly those linked to Decree 66 and the Marota City and Basilia City projects in Damascus. It said the decree, issued in 2012, was used to displace thousands of residents, while Law No. 10 of 2018 expanded the same model across Syria and required residents to prove ownership of their properties within a short period, disproportionately affecting displaced people. While a presidential committee was formed in December 2025 to review procedures related to the decree, some compensation decisions were issued in May 2026. However, the legal status of the two projects remains unresolved.

In Jobar, where around 95% of buildings have been destroyed, the organization reported that residents had been told they would not be allowed to rebuild through individual initiatives. Meanwhile, a foreign-backed project proposes providing homeowners with new housing units equivalent to only 50% of the floor area of their former homes, while residents of informal settlements would receive units equivalent to 30% of the area of their previous plots. Tenants, however, would receive no compensation.

Human Rights Watch called on the transitional government to ensure the participation of affected communities in planning, resolve property disputes, establish independent grievance mechanisms, and prioritize water, sanitation, electricity, schools and healthcare in areas of return. It also urged donors to make compliance with human rights standards a condition for funding reconstruction projects and to conduct prior assessments of the projects’ human rights impacts. The organization called on companies and investors to conduct human rights due diligence before entering into agreements and throughout their implementation.

Heba Zayadin said the legal frameworks for Syria’s reconstruction were still being drafted, adding that this represented an opportunity to establish safeguards to protect affected communities and that “sustainable recovery” depended on putting those safeguards into practice.