Legal Identity and Housing, Land and Property Rights of Syrian Refugees from a Durable Solutions Perspective Challenges and Opportunities Recommendations on housing, land and property rights The Government of Syria should: 1. Protect HLP rights in accordance with national and international law by re-issuing destroyed or lost property documents and recognising alternative forms of proof, such as verified photocopies. Syrian refugees must be allowed to manage their property from abroad, in order to complete transfer of ownership and inheritance procedures. This can be done by streamlining the process for issuance and verification of powers of attorney for persons outside Syria and reducing the associated fees. 2. Protect the right to security of tenure for all Syrians, including those who previously lived in informal settlements and female-headed households, by increasing access to social housing, recognising different types of tenure to prevent evictions; and engaging with community and religious leaders on customary norms and practices used to resolve HLP disputes. 3. Ensure that the property rights of women, including female heads of household, are respected and recognised considering cultural and legal barriers faced by women in accessing their rights. 4. Establish efficient, accessible and affordable mechanisms to address HLP issues, and to provide for property restitution and compensation in line with international law.137 For those who are unable to return to their previous homes, provide support packages to allow people to access, purchase or rent housing, including specific economic livelihoods programmes for vulnerable women and other disadvantaged groups. Humanitarian & Development actors should: 5. Reinforce the importance of refugees’ preservation of existing HLP documents and evidence for future claims through legal programming across the region, and facilitate access to lost HLP documentation where possible. 6. Consider scaling up HLP programming with a focus on practical and effective means for persons to claim their HLP rights (such as mediation and negotiation of disputes), with specific assistance to vulnerable groups, including households with missing family members. Invest in legal services, awareness-raising and capacity-building among communities regarding their HLP rights and address social norms preventing women from accessing inheritance. Donors should: 7. Stress the importance of HLP rights vis-à-vis the Government of Syria, including tenure security, as well as restitution and compensation as an essential element of achieving durable solutions. 8. Invest in HLP programmes in host countries and in Syria to build refugees’ capacity to access and control HLP assets with specific focus on women. 137 UNHCR, 2018, Comprehensive Protection and Solutions Strategy: Protection Thresholds and Parameters for Refugee Return to Syria, p. 8. Photo: NRC 23