Iraq

In eastern Iraq, ISIS systematically confiscated state-issued identity documents in areas under its control. ISIS replaced those IDs with ISIS-issued documents, registered babies, and issued birth certificates to legitimate its authority. As the territory ISIS controlled shrank, parents found that those birth certificates were not considered valid by other authorities. ISIS-issued documents were sometimes lost or deliberately destroyed by parents to avoid association with ISIS. Today Iraq faces the challenge of issuing birth certificates and recognizing the nationality of children who were issued ISIS documents. In 2019, CEDAW expressed concern that children whose fathers are ISIS members or who were born following sexual violence committed by ISIS members have limited access to birth registration. In 2025, the CRC recommended that Iraq develop protocols for registering those children, who are at risk of statelessness.