19/09/2025 – 10/10/2025

• German federal police have arrested five men accused of human trafficking of Syrian migrants . On 29 September 2025, police carried out a set of raids in North-Rhine Westphalia which led to the arrests. According to the police press report “The five defendants are accused of working together and following a joint plan to recruit Syrian nationals who did not have valid entry and residence documents, smuggling them into Germany, and transporting them there”.

• On 24 September 2025, the Access Center for Human Rights (ACHR) published a new report, titled ‘The Lebanon Return Refugee Plan: From the Perspective of Syrian Returnees Engaging in the Return Program’. The report draws on interview with returnees and seeks to examine the reasons for which Syrian refugees in Lebanon engage in the Return Plan, how they experience the process, and what conditions they face upon return to Syria. It highlights several key challenges such as “inadequate financial support, costly and time-consuming legal documentation procedures, lack of clarity around assistance, and the broader difficulties of reintegration inside Syria”.