Missing Link - The Centrality of Protection in Early Recovery in Syria

Executive summary

A new joint report by the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), Oxfam, and INTERSOS highlights the urgent need to place protection at the core of early recovery efforts in Syria. Over a decade of conflict, compounded by economic collapse, displacement, and the ongoing humanitarian crisis, has left millions of Syrians vulnerable to severe protection risks. Despite increasing early recovery programming, efforts remain fragmented and underfunded, often neglecting key protection concerns such as housing, land, and property rights, civil documentation, gender-based violence, and child protection.

This report argues that early recovery in Syria cannot be sustainable without integrating protection-focused interventions. It calls on donor governments, humanitarian actors, and Syrian authorities to shift from short-term aid to long-term resilience-building that prioritizes safety, dignity, and rights.