After twelve years of civil war and humanitarian suffering in Syria, the regime of President Bashar al-Assad remains entrenched. With no political solution to the conflict in sight, there is regional momentum toward normalization with the regime. In May, Syria was welcomed back into the Arab League. Several Arab nations have concluded that Assad is here to stay and that they require his cooperation to address challenges such as refugees and the illicit drug trade. While there appears to be less of a willingness to normalize relations with Syria in the United States and Europe, Western governments have increasingly directed their attention elsewhere, namely the Russia-Ukraine war. 

In light of these developments, the question of what issues need to be addressed for the millions of Syrian refugees living in neighboring countries—mainly Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan—to safely return home is more pertinent than ever. Refugees face pressure to return voluntarily (from hostile governments and legal restrictions in host states) as well as obstacles within Syria (including discriminatory laws and mandatory conscription in Syria). As death certificates now demonstrate, the Syrian regime has killed hundreds of civilians in its prisons, including activists from the uprising against its rule. What can Arab League countries and the international community do to enable or facilitate a safe return for Syrian refugees?

To explore these questions, the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center is organizing a panel discussion on July 6, at 6:00 p.m EEST, which is co-hosted by the Immigration Policy Lab at Stanford University and ETH Zurich, European Institute of Peace, and Syrian Network for Human Rights. The speakers will be Marie Forestier, Ala’ Alrababa’h, and Fadel Abdul Ghany.

The discussion will be in English and moderated by the director of the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, Maha Yahya. It will be livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook.

For more information, please contact Najwa Yassine at najwa.yassine@carnegie-mec.org.