Syrian Arab Republic: Regional Operational Framework for Refugee Return to Syria
INTRODUCTION
The Syria crisis has displaced nearly 5.7 million' Syrian refugees into Turkey. Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt, and over six million people within the Syrian Arab Republic (Syria). During 2018, the situation inside Syria evoked, leading to the cessation of large-scale fighting in much of the country. Nevertheless, refugees? continue to require international protection and humanitarian support. Given the protracted crisis, opportunities for durable solutions are urgently needed so refugees can look to the future with hope and dignity. The comprehensive protection and solutions approach seeks to: i) support host country resilience; ii) ensure refugee protection, including access to basic social services, well-being and enable their self-reliance; iii) expand access to resettlement and other safe pathways (complementary pathways) to a third country, and; iv) plan for and support voluntary, safe, and dignified return of refugees to Syria. This document focuses on the fourth of these pillars, providing the regional interagency direction for protection, operations and planning related to refugee return.
In February 2018 the Comprehensive Protection and Solutions Stratemc Protection Thresholds and Parameters for Refugee Return to Syria (CPSS)' was issued, laying out the protection thresholds and parameters for refugee return to Syria. Over the last two years, there has also been a modest, but growing number of returns, with some 1.25 million IDPs and over 56,000 refugee returns in 2018.
Considering the potential increase in the scale of refugee returns, the interagency community has stepped up its preparedness efforts. Between November 2018 and February 2019, through the interagency fora coordinating refugee return,' Interagency Preparedness Plans on Refugee Returns were developed at the regional and country levels in order to: 1) Detail ongoing actions and activities for refugee return, and; 2) Prepare for a possible increase in the scale of the return and/or shift to large-scale facilitation, ensuring the interagency aid community's readiness to be able to support a large-scale operation.
The Regional Operational Framework for refugee return presented herein consolidates the common elements of those preparedness plans covering protection, operations and planning. While each country has specific plans and interventions relevant to its context, the framework provides an overview of these plans including specific sectoral objectives, activities, and existing standards and policies as related to refugee return. Though the country plans have elements that support the sustainability of returns, they do not encompass activities for reintegration support and ea dy recovery in Syria.
