NRC I Displacement, HLP and access to civil documentation in the south of the Syrian Arab Republic What are housing, land, and property rights? Housing, land and property rights are about having a home free from the fear of forced eviction and a place that offers shelter, safety and the ability to secure a livelihood. HLP rights are referenced and defined in several international human rights instruments,1 as well as in national law in Syria, for instance, in the Constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic.2 Organisations providing protection and assistance to persons affected by conflict should respect the human rights, including HLP rights, of affected persons at all times, and advocate for their promotion and protection to the fullest extent. The concept of HLP includes the full spectrum of rights to housing, land and property held according to statutory or customary law or informally, both public and private housing, land and/or property assets.3 HLP rights include: • the right to adequate housing • the right of access to natural resources, such as land and water • the right to security of tenure and protection against forced eviction • the right to non-discrimination in accessing HLP rights, which often entails • special protection for the most vulnerable and marginalized persons The on-going conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) has resulted in severe housing damage both in urban and rural areas. Multiple displacements, the destruction of housing and infrastructure, and lack of livelihoods and income-generating activities have forced both internally displaced persons and host populations to reside in over-crowded and sub-standard shelter conditions exposing them to significant protection risks. The 2017 Syria HNO identified HLP rights as a protection issue in 93 per cent of surveyed sub-districts, including all 21 sub-districts in Dar’a and 1 For example, Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which was ratified by the Syrian Arab Republic in 1969, recognizes “the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing”. The General Comments of the ICESCR are also binding upon the Syrian Arab Republic, including General Comment 4 on “The Right to Adequate Housing (Art. 11 (1) of the Covenant)” and General Comment 7 on “The right to adequate housing (Art.11.1): forced evictions”. A further example is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), ratified by the Syrian Arab Republic in March 2003, which explicitly protects rural women from discrimination with respect to matters relating to HLP in Article 14 (2) (h) of CEDAW. The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement also specifically address HLP issues, for example, the right to an adequate standard of living (Principle 18), protection from pillage and arbitrary deprivation of property (Principle 21), and responsibilities relating to the recovery of property (Principle 29). 2 See, for example, Article 15 of the 2012 Constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic which states: “Collective and individual private ownership shall be protected in accordance with the following basis: 1. General confiscation of funds shall be prohibited; 2. Private ownership shall not be removed except in the public interest by a decree and against fair compensation according to the law; 3. Confiscation of private property shall not be imposed without a final court ruling; 4. Private property may be confiscated for necessities of war and disasters by a law and against fair compensation; 5. Compensation shall be equivalent to the real value of the property.” Available at https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Syria_2012.pdf. Last accessed on 24 April 2017. 3 More information on the scope of HLP can be sourced from the HLP Area of Responsibility of the Global Protection Cluster, http://www.globalprotectioncluster.org/en/areas-of-responsibility/ housing-land-and-property/hlp-area-of-responsibility.html and from Norwegian Refugee Council (2011) Housing, Land and Property, Training Manual. 6 I NRC Assessment Report