Returning Home Is a Process, Not a Moment: UN Agencies Pledge Stronger Joint Action to Support Syrian Refugees

During their visit, the Regional Directors met with governments, donors, and families to assess needs, address gaps, and identify where support can be expanded in a more coordinated and efficient manner.

After more than a decade of displacement, around 3 million displaced Syrians inside and outside the country were able to return home. In 2025 alone, around 179,000 people returned to Syria from Jordan and around 500,000 from Lebanon.

At the same time, around 4.5 million Syrians are still hosted in neighbouring countries. Supporting voluntary returns does not begin at the border, but where refugees are now. Sustained assistance in host countries enables families to make informed, voluntary decisions about their future.

Across Jordan and Lebanon, refugees tell us that their wish is to return to Syria – but they need to know they will be safe, their children can go to school, have access to services and they will be able to make a living. Return is not a single moment; it is a process. People need time to prepare, to assess conditions, to secure documentation and livelihoods, and to ensure safety for their children.

UN Agencies are bolstering inter-agency cooperation to support their aspirations and improve conditions inside Syria so they can voluntarily return in safety and with dignity.

In Syrian governorates with high numbers of returnees, including Deir ez-Zor, Aleppo and Idleb, we are strengthening joined-up service delivery through community centres. This includes the combined delivery of mental health support for children, civil registration assistance, and enrolment in food assistance programmes, among others. In host communities outside Syria, we are expanding cooperation on childhood nutrition, cash assistance, and youth initiatives such as vocational training and learning-to-earning programmes.

At the same time, stabilizing Syria is crucial—both for the region and for enabling the safe, dignified, and sustainable return of Syrian refugees. After 14 years of conflict, Syria’s absorptive capacity remains fragile. While support in areas of return is increasing, needs for housing, livelihoods, and basic services continue to far outpace what is available, and recovery and reconstruction commitments have yet to translate into meaningful change in many communities.

While the latest Food Security Assessment (2025) shows food security improving in Syria, humanitarian needs remain critically high - with only 18% of Syrian families able to consistently meet their diverse, sufficient, and nutritious food needs. For millions who face daily challenges to meet their basic needs, this moment offers hope: the possibility of rebuilding a self-sufficient and resilient future inside Syria. Ensuring families have access to food, livelihoods, services, and documentation is essential to making return a viable and empowering choice, rather than a desperate one.

This is a moment that calls for care as much as courage. Emerging opportunities in Syria must be fostered through timely support, sustained recovery efforts, and ultimately large-scale reconstruction.

For those displaced, safety and security are a main concern as they consider return. We call on all parties to contribute to the progress already made to bring safety and security to all Syrians. Peace and stability are critical so Syrians can rebuild their lives. Rights and identities must be respected, with safeguards and meaningful social inclusion for all.

While this work continues, families must be supported wherever they are. If the return of refugee families outpaces Syria’s absorption capacity, it risks creating new humanitarian needs and further instability in the region.

But if we get this right – patiently, responsibly, and together, with sustained and predictable donor support – we can help Syrian families move forward not just to a place, but toward a future.