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Syria Without Camps
President Ahmad Al-Sharaa received UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih and his accompanying delegation at the People’s Palace in Damascus on Monday, with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani present.
“President Ahmad Al-Sharaa received UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih”
The meeting focused on strengthening cooperation between Syria and UNHCR, including support for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of refugees and early recovery and livelihood projects.
On Sunday, Salih met with the Syrian steering committee tasked with implementing the “Syria Without Camps” vision strategy, discussing joint coordination mechanisms and prospects for cooperation.
The discussions linked voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable returns with the rehabilitation of areas of return and the restoration of basic services, including rehabilitating hospitals, health centers, schools, water and sewage networks, bakeries, municipal services, roads and transportation facilities.
Convoy From Idlib
A convoy carrying about 100 families departed from displacement camps in the northern Rif Idlib to governorates including Daraa, Damascus, Rural Damascus, Homs, Deir Ezzor, Aleppo, and Latakia as part of the “Syria Without Camps” initiative.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the convoy was organized under the sponsorship of the Idlib Governorate and supervised by the Department of Social Affairs and Labor in the governorate, with support from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The same report said that on August 6, 2026, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the departure of 182 Syrian families from displacement camps in the Idlib countryside in a convoy heading to their home areas in the northern and western Hama countryside, described as the third convoy of its kind in a matter of days.
The initiative is presented as supporting voluntary return of IDPs to their original areas while calls emphasize providing basic services, infrastructure, and stability components for returning families to ensure sustainability of return and alleviate years of displacement.
UNHCR Visits Camps
UNHCR High Commissioner for Refugees Brham Saleh announced support for the Syria without Camps plan and ensuring the return of displaced people to their homes during a tour to the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo on Tuesday.
“"We came to this camp to examine the living reality of the displaced,"”
Saleh said, "We came to this camp to examine the living reality of the displaced," stressing that the Commission will support Syria as it moves toward recovery and stability.
During the visit to the Migration Camp in Idlib, Saleh held talks with Idlib Governor Mohammad Abdul Rahman about "support for service and humanitarian projects that contribute to improving the conditions of families residing in shelters and camps" and securing requirements for voluntary and dignified return.
The report also says Idlib’s Director of Social Affairs and Labor, Ahlem Al-Rashid, described commitments announced during the visit related to rebuilding infrastructure and projects that could provide income for families who will return to settle in their towns.