Assessment Report I NRC Quneitra. Concerns regarding damage to land/property, and looting of private property were reported in all 21 sub-districts, while other widely reported issues included unlawful occupancy of property, unaffordability or unavailability of housing, or restrictions on access to property.4 Other HLP challenges include illegal and undocumented HLP transactions; HLP disputes; limited access to land for livelihoods; contamination of land by explosive hazards; and lack of civil and HLP documentation (the former being a prerequisite to obtaining HLP documentation). Displaced women face particular barriers to accessing their rights: they are less likely than men to have property documents in their name, less likely to be decisionmakers in their household, and they are often expected to inherit less than would their male counterparts.5 Civil documentation is not only prerequisite to obtaining HLP documents and necessary for the recognition, exercise and full realization of HLP rights, it is also a cross-cutting enabler for other rights, including the right to education, adequate healthcare and freedom of movement. HNO data shows that 81 per cent of surveyed sub-districts nationwide reported lack or loss of civil documentation as an issue, including all 21 sub-districts in Dar’a and Quneitra. The most frequently reported reasons for lacking documentation in the south included loss, confiscation or never having obtained it; these reasons were reported in at least 19 out of the 21 subdistricts. That documentation services were unaffordable or unavailable was also cited as a reason for the lack of civil documentation in more than half of the sub-districts in Dar’a and Quneitra governorates.6 The risky or insurmountable challenges of acquiring, replacing or renewing expired civil documentation in Syria require attention, as do associated challenges for protecting HLP rights. There is a need for forward-thinking programming and policy change, particularly for those displaced by the current conflict. Such change should consider the particular barriers that displaced communities face and give enhanced focus to the protection of HLP rights as a cornerstone of multiple humanitarian sectors, such as shelter, CCCM, food security and livelihoods, and WASH, as well as an important catalyst to bridge to early recovery and development. Failure to consider HLP rights in the humanitarian response could compound existing inequalities and discriminatory patterns and could ultimately hinder the finding of durable solutions for IDP or refugee returns. Noting the pervasive nature of HLP and civil documentation concerns presented in the Protection Needs Overview, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) undertook an assessment to improve understanding of the HLP and civil documentation environment in non-government-controlled areas (NGCA) of Dar’a and Quneitra governorates. UNHCR and NRC undertook a similar study in northwest Syria, also in late 2016, coordinated through the Turkey Hub of the Whole of Syria coordination mechanism. This report presents the key findings from the research in the south. 4 2017 Humanitarian Needs Overview, p. 32. http://hno-syria.org/data/reports/en/flip/index. html and 2017 Protection Needs Overview p. 17. http://hno-syria.org/data/reports/2017_Syria_Protection.pdf p. 102 and p. 180. 5 “Housing, Land and Property (HLP) in the Syrian Arab Republic”, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Briefing note. May 2016. p.9 - 14. 6 2017 Protection Needs Overview p. 17. http://hno-syria.org/data/reports/2017_Syria_Protection.pdf p. 103 and p. 181. NRC Assessment Report I 7