At some point, Syria will be rebuilt.

Whole cities and swaths of the country have been destroyed. Millions of civilians are displaced either within the country or outside its borders during six years of conflict. The World Bank estimates that postwar reconstruction will cost in the hundreds of billions of dollars and though the international community is treating the reconstruction of Syria as a pressing priority, questions remain about where the money will come from, when it will come and under what conditions.

In April, the international community met in Brussels for the annual Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region conference. In addition to discussions about increasing aid to refugees and host countries and rebuilding Palmyra, there were also talks on a reconstruction initiative that a post-conference declaration explained “will be successful only in the context of a genuine and inclusive transition that benefits all the Syrians.”

Aid organizations warned about the risks, and a joint statement by CARE International, the International Rescue Committee, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam and Save the Children argued that without international support for a political solution and respect for human rights, “a move towards reconstruction assistance risks doing more harm than good.”