Support and services
Returning or relocating within Syria can be challenging. Access to support and services may vary by region. This section helps you find available humanitarian services, understand eligibility, and connect with organizations that can assist you.
It will help you to make decisions that are well informed, fully voluntary, and with an awareness of options and rights for continued stay.
Legal centers
UNHCR, through agreements with local partners, provides legal assistance to Syrian IDPs, Returnees and host communicates. The legal assistance is provided in legal centers in 7 governates as well as through mobile activities, community centers, shelters and any other areas across the country where people in need are located. Find the nearest Legal center on the map below.
Legal Counseling
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Legal counseling services are available to help individuals understand their rights and navigate legal challenges.
Lawyers assist with various legal issues, including:
- Civil Law
- Personal Status Law (e.g., marriage, divorce, and custody)
- Civil Affairs Law
- Criminal Law
- Housing, Land, and Property (HLP)
These services help individuals:
- Explore their legal options.
- Claim their entitlements.
- Understand and follow legal procedures.
- Find the best mechanisms to resolve legal problems.
Legal counseling is provided at:
- Legal Centers and Community Centers.
- Through partners’ hotline numbers.
- At mobile units and protection facilities operated by partners.
All legal counseling services are free of charge and tailored to assist vulnerable individuals.
Awareness Raising
One of the main objectives of the Legal Assistance Program is to conduct regular awareness raising sessions to targeted population on specific legal issues in order to enhance their general awareness of essential issues and empower them to play an active role in the decisions that affect their lives. Main topics for these sessions may relate to the relevant Syrian Laws such as Personal Status Law, Civil Affairs Law, HLP laws, Civil Law, and Penal Code.
Legal Interventions
The Legal intervention before courts or other governmental bodies is carried on behalf of vulnerable individuals who are more likely to be in need of assistance due to their lack of knowledge on the required legal procedures, having protection concerns, inability to reach the administrative and legal bodies, poverty and financial difficulties. Legal assistance covers the following matters:
• Documenting personal civil events (marriage, birth, divorce and death);
Partners’ lawyers may assist vulnerable individuals on documentation-related issues. The intervention in such cases may take place before civil registries for the issuance of identity cards and family booklets either for the first time or as a replacement for lost or damaged ones. Intervention may also take place before the Syrian courts and then at the Department of Civil Affairs for cases that require registering and documenting personal status events such as authentication of marriage, divorce, or death, when these events have already taken place without being officially registered.
• HLP legal matters:
UNHCR’s partners provide HLP-related services under certain conditions. Partners shall provide HLP counselling and awareness raising sessions according to the same rules that regulates these two activities.
Administrative interventions for HLP matters may include assisting vulnerable PoCs in issuing basic cadastral documents such as issuing replacements of lost/damaged cadastral documents/ownership deeds or copies of power of attorney/ratified sale contract issued by the notary public.
Intervention before courts may include providing support and legal assistance in actions such as restoring real-estate court cases that have been damaged due to the crisis upon ensuing the good faith of the requesting party, authenticating sale contract where the seller acknowledges the contract.
• Legal issues related to the protection/safety of women and children (custody, alimony, inheritance, domestic violence…etc.);
Since women and children still face some protection concerns in many life situations, UNHCR has expanded access to legal assistance and legal remedies to address GBV and CP cases which were either identified by partners’ lawyers and LORVs or referred to them by other units, ORVs, relevant authorities or other NGOs or UN agencies.
Community centers
Community centers are friendly spaces for everyone, men, women and children from all ages and backgrounds, offering a variety of protection services. These include legal assistance, education, job skills training, start-up grants, health services, and psychosocial support.
The centre provides programs for child protection, services that prevent gender-based violence and support survivors, and assist those in need. Additionally, the centers offer social, recreational, and awareness activities for the community.
Services Advisor - Find all services
For a complete list and map of services across Syria, please visit our Services Advisor, where you can filter through all the services and support available.
