Nationality and statelessness: the right to birth registration in the context of the Syrian conflict

Abstract

Statelessness is a human rights issue affecting more than ten million people worldwide and having detrimental consequences on children’s lives. Every year, a great number of children come into this world lacking recognition and protection from any State. In the context of the Syrian conflict in particular, Syrian children born in exile are more vulnerable to statelessness since acquiring the nationality of the State in which they are born can be very difficult or even impossible. The situation is further compounded by lack of birth registration, a process that guarantees a child’s recognition in the system of nationstates. In an era of internal conflicts and forced displacement, the existing problem of statelessness and the risks of a new generation of stateless children calls for immediate action from States and the international community as a whole to adopt every necessary measure in order to close all gaps in the international protection system. If the problem of statelessness will be solved in the near future, the protection of the universal right to a nationality and the right to birth registration must be safeguarded for every child regardless of his or her legal status.