#Syria and #Russia’s conference on refugee returns in Damascus is farcical. The real reason behind refugees' inability & unwillingness to return to #Syria?
Thread based on documentation by @hrw & others 1/5 https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/11/23/syrian-conflicts-next-front https://twitter.com/mojobeirut/status/1326506094894739457

1) Indiscriminate and unlawful attacks by #Syria armed forces, with the support of Russia and Iran, which devastated markets, hospitals, homes since 2011. Their most recent offensive in #Idlib displaced *over a million* people. 2/5 https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/10/15/syria/russia-strategy-targeted-civilian-infrastructure

2) #Syria security services, arbitrarily arresting, torturing & extrajudicially killing 1000s who expressed dissent.

These practices are still happening today – even where ppl signed agreements w gov to guarantee protection from such abuses 3/5 https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/05/21/syria-detention-harassment-retaken-areas

3) Policies by the #Syrian government that have allowed authorities to unlawfully confiscate and demolish displaced people’s homes, block them from returning to their areas of origin, and discriminate against them in the provision of aid. 4/5 https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/10/16/syria-residents-blocked-returning

The conclusion is that #Syria is NOT safe for return, regardless of how many conferences are held. If #Russia is serious about encouraging returns, it should end its own abuses & press the gov to end abuses, creating conditions conducive to a safe & dignified return. 5/5