- Thread starter
- Staff
- #1
Dadparvar
Staff member
- Nov 11, 2016
- 11,299
- 0
- 6
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Sunday advised global leaders to consider the effects proposed redevelopment will have on the Syrian people as international investment continues to pour into the recovering nation.
“Syria’s reconstruction is progressing slowly, but without a rights framework, it could leave many Syrians with a raw deal,” Hiba Zayadin, senior HRW Middle East advisor, said. “The legal framework being finalized now will determine whose homes are rebuilt, whose claims are recognized, and whose voices are heard.”
After over a decade of civil war, displaced Syrians have begun to return to their former homes. However, severe infrastructure damage and property disputes continue to complicate recovery. Many people possess uncertain political, social, financial, or property-ownership status.
Uncertainty persists at a time when international investment in Syrian redevelopment continues to boom. Earlier this month, the US sent a diplomatic “chamber of commerce,” composed of individuals representing 50 US companies. US leaders have described Syria as an opportunity for the US to exercise “commercial diplomacy” and that “Syria’s reconstruction will be built on private sector investment and fair trade, and American enterprise offers the innovation, quality, and reliability that Syria needs to succeed in the 21st century economy.”
Other nations have also joined in redevelopment investment. In April 2025, Saudi Arabia and Qatar collectively paid off Syria’s $15.5 billion World Bank debt. Saudi Arabia has promised an additional $6.4 billion in infrastructure projects, and Qatar has pledged $4 billion. Moreover, the EU has pledged $713 million–with more likely to come following next year’s EU-Syria Investment Summit in Brussels–and the World Bank has approved over $1 billion in grant-funded projects related to Syrian development.
However, HRW field researchers stated that, within this investment climate, certain “areas of return place [political and property] rights at serious risk.” The group cited conditions in Ghadfa, where residents continue to lack running water, electricity, housing, school, and medical facilities, as well as Damascus neighbourhood Jobar, where conflict destroyed about 95 percent of buildings.
Moreover, researchers described how in many instances, redevelopment projects have begun without “community participation, clear compensation standards, or accessible grievance mechanisms.”
“The legal frameworks governing Syria’s reconstruction are still being written,” Zayadin said. “That is an opportunity, but only if the international community and the transitional government use it to build protections for affected communities. A durable recovery depends on getting things right.”
HRW urged Syria’s transitional government to apply Article 12 of the nation’s March 2025 Constitutional Declaration–which pledges protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms–to the country’s reconstruction process. The group also recommended the government create community involvement requirements, grievance mechanisms, and a moratorium on destruction of disputed property. They also pressured international investors to adhere to human rights principles.
Syria is bound by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantee housing security and the right to effective remedy, respectively. The UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-Based Evictions additionally provides guidance on proper compensation and due process prior to displacement by development.
The post Rights group cautions against careless redevelopment in Syria, citing billions in deals lacking legal safeguards appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.
“Syria’s reconstruction is progressing slowly, but without a rights framework, it could leave many Syrians with a raw deal,” Hiba Zayadin, senior HRW Middle East advisor, said. “The legal framework being finalized now will determine whose homes are rebuilt, whose claims are recognized, and whose voices are heard.”
After over a decade of civil war, displaced Syrians have begun to return to their former homes. However, severe infrastructure damage and property disputes continue to complicate recovery. Many people possess uncertain political, social, financial, or property-ownership status.
Uncertainty persists at a time when international investment in Syrian redevelopment continues to boom. Earlier this month, the US sent a diplomatic “chamber of commerce,” composed of individuals representing 50 US companies. US leaders have described Syria as an opportunity for the US to exercise “commercial diplomacy” and that “Syria’s reconstruction will be built on private sector investment and fair trade, and American enterprise offers the innovation, quality, and reliability that Syria needs to succeed in the 21st century economy.”
Other nations have also joined in redevelopment investment. In April 2025, Saudi Arabia and Qatar collectively paid off Syria’s $15.5 billion World Bank debt. Saudi Arabia has promised an additional $6.4 billion in infrastructure projects, and Qatar has pledged $4 billion. Moreover, the EU has pledged $713 million–with more likely to come following next year’s EU-Syria Investment Summit in Brussels–and the World Bank has approved over $1 billion in grant-funded projects related to Syrian development.
However, HRW field researchers stated that, within this investment climate, certain “areas of return place [political and property] rights at serious risk.” The group cited conditions in Ghadfa, where residents continue to lack running water, electricity, housing, school, and medical facilities, as well as Damascus neighbourhood Jobar, where conflict destroyed about 95 percent of buildings.
Moreover, researchers described how in many instances, redevelopment projects have begun without “community participation, clear compensation standards, or accessible grievance mechanisms.”
“The legal frameworks governing Syria’s reconstruction are still being written,” Zayadin said. “That is an opportunity, but only if the international community and the transitional government use it to build protections for affected communities. A durable recovery depends on getting things right.”
HRW urged Syria’s transitional government to apply Article 12 of the nation’s March 2025 Constitutional Declaration–which pledges protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms–to the country’s reconstruction process. The group also recommended the government create community involvement requirements, grievance mechanisms, and a moratorium on destruction of disputed property. They also pressured international investors to adhere to human rights principles.
Syria is bound by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantee housing security and the right to effective remedy, respectively. The UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-Based Evictions additionally provides guidance on proper compensation and due process prior to displacement by development.
The post Rights group cautions against careless redevelopment in Syria, citing billions in deals lacking legal safeguards appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.