Title: Syria: Role of International Agreements in Forced Displacement (1)
Publisher: Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ) and Synergy organization
Release date: 2023

Five years have passed since the 2018 Russian-Turkish agreement, which led to the displacement of Eastern Ghouta and Afrin’s original people. The agreement guided serious demographic changes that contributed to deepening societal divisions and ethnic differences between Syrians. The consequences of this agreement are still affecting those people who lost their property and livelihood. This estrangement was added to their suffering from bombardment, starvation, displacement, and other heavy burdens they had to bear over the last years.
Afrin received IDPs from different Syrian parts including, Eastern Ghouta, Homs, Hama, Idlib, Aleppo, al-Hasakah, and Deir ez-Zor. The newcomers are from cultural backgrounds vastly different from each other’s and from that of Afrinians. These cultural differences led to a breakdown in communication and understanding among them. This resulted in deep social disagreements that seemed intractable due to the lack of information on their nature.

Despite the cultural rapprochement initiatives by individuals and local organizations, it does not seem like these differences will fade soon, especially as armed factions exacerbated violations against Afrin’s original population amid a lack of effective mechanisms for redress. All this together prompted a mass exodus of Afrin’s original people who, nonetheless, are dreaming of a safe, voluntary, and dignified return.

The talk about property rights violations in Afrin is sensitive; it is unfair to describe all of the newcomers as “settlers” or real estate usurpers, albeit some involved. Many of the IDPs took, resided, or leased houses with the consent of their owners. There were also IDPs who carried out some individual and civil initiatives called for restoring Afrininans’ property rights.

The present report will reveal the political backgrounds of the Turkish-Russian agreement and the events leading up to the displacement of the original populations of Eastern Ghouta. The report will center on the violations met by the IDPs during the displacement journey, and the destinations they ended up. This report also tracks the continued housing, land, and property rights violations in Afrin and Eastern Ghouta by the controlling powers, makes recommendations for their resolve, and provides a related legal opinion.[1]