Over 2,600 Syrian refugees depart Jordan in 2023
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Approximately 2,600 Syrian refugees returned to their country from Jordan during the first seven months of the current year, according to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The UNHCR data indicated the return of 20,061 Syrian refugees from Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq to Syria in 2023.
In 2022, the number of Syrian refugees returning to Syria from various host countries reached 50,966, compared to 35,624 in 2021, 38,235 in 2020, and 94,971 in 2019.
On Aug. 22, Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi stressed the importance of taking practical and immediate steps to find the required circumstances for the voluntary return of Syrian refugees to their country. He urged the relevant United Nations organizations to promptly initiate these actions.
Safadi, at a meeting with the UNHCR Filippo Grandi in Amman, highlighted the importance of ongoing coordination with the Syrian government and the international community to fulfill the necessary conditions for the return of around a 1,000 Syrian refugees, which may serve as a model for a comprehensive plan that promotes and facilitates the voluntary return of refugees.
Safadi stated that providing the conditions for the return of Syrian refugees to their country is a top priority, and the Kingdom will continue working with all parties to achieve it.
The total number of returnees since 2016 until the end of last month reached 373,912 Syrian refugees, including 67,312 from Jordan.
The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Jordan, Sheri Ritsema-Anderson, stated last month to the Kingdom that the current situation does not allow for the voluntary return of refugees to Syria in the near future, as the favorable conditions are not yet affordable.
According to a survey conducted by the UN and published in June, 1.1 percent of Syrian refugees in four Arab countries expressed their desire to return to their homeland within a year.
The study revealed that 97 percent of Syrian refugees in Jordan who participated in the survey do not intend to return to their country in the next 12 months, compared to 2.4 percent who have not yet made a decision.
Jordan has been hosting more than 1.3 million Syrian refugees since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011, including approximately 655,000 registered refugees with the UNHCR, as of August 16, 2023.