A/81/339 have taken initial steps in this regard but left intact legislation adopted since 2012 50 permitting expropriation, redevelopment and the reclassification of areas deemed damaged or informal, and conditioning the retention of rights upon proving ownership and registering claims within short deadlines that many displaced persons cannot meet. 51 With large-scale return already under way, the resolution of these claims is being outpaced by the movements that it should be governing. Such legislation should be amended or repealed before large-scale reconstruction proceeds, with safeguards against forced evictions. 52 42. Infrastructure is often heavily damaged by disasters or deliberately targeted in conflict, including objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, whose targeting is prohibited under international humanitarian law. The rehabilitation of health, education, water, sanitation, electricity, transport and food systems improves services for displaced and non-displaced populations alike. Reconstruction should account for displacement patterns and barriers faced across urban, peri -urban and rural areas. In cities, displaced persons may face rising housing costs and pressure on services, and investment may be concentrated in formally planned areas while informal settlements remain underserved. 53 In rural areas, the destruction of irrigation systems, roads and agricultural infrastructure may prevent the resumption of livelihoods even after housing has been rebuilt. Equitable reconstruction therefore depends on integrating infrastructure and service rehabilitation with local development planning. Area-based approaches can support equitable reconstruction by combining cross-sectoral damage assessment with data on displacement and pre-existing vulnerabilities to identify needs across sectors and populations. 54 D. Economic recovery, livelihoods and mine action 43. Internally displaced persons returning to areas of origin, integrating locally or settling elsewhere require access to sustainable income and livelihoods. 55 However, livelihood recovery is frequently treated as a secondary priority, resulting in food and water insecurity, prolonged dependency on humanitarian assistance, and harmful coping strategies, including asset depletion, child labour, early marriage, hazardous or exploitative work, migration and secondary displacement. Returnees often find fundamentally changed local economies: agricultural land damaged or seized, water sources contaminated, supply chains disrupted and communities fragmented. Restoring livelihoods and social protection is therefore not only essential to durable solutions; it can also prevent renewed displacement by reducing dependency, exploitation and harmful coping strategies. 44. The clearance of landmines, other explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices is a prerequisite for livelihood restoration, economic recovery and durable solutions. Contamination threatens lives, restricts access to essential services and livelihoods, including agricultural land, and traps communities in cycles of poverty and insecurity. Land release can improve market access and economic __________________ 50 Legislative Decree No. 66 of 2012, Law No. 10 of 2018, and the Urban Planning Law No. 23 of 2015. 51 See https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/09/syrian-arab-republic-un-experts-urgerepeal-dispossession-laws. 52 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 7 (1997); Basic principles and guidelines on development-based evictions and displacement (A/HRC/4/18, annex I). 53 See A/80/212. 54 United Nations Human Settlements Programme and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Sustainable Reconstruction: A Framework for Inclusive Planning and Financing to Support Green Transition in the Arab States Region (2023). 55 Submissions from the World Bank and UNDP. 12/24 26-12053