Syria

In Syria, the Kurds were stripped of citizenship in 1962 and given the status of Ajanib (foreigner) or Maktoumeen (the unregistered). This has produced intergenerational transference of statelessness through the birth registration process. In 2011 the Syrian government issued a decree enabling many Kurds and their children to apply for nationality. The CRC (2012) welcomed the decree, and urged Syria to take immediate steps to guarantee that all children of Syrian-born Kurdish parents, including children of stateless Kurds known as Maktoumeen, promptly acquire Syrian nationality and enjoy their rights without discrimination. Syria claimed in a 2017 report to the CRC that it had granted nationality and issued identity cards to some 70,000 Kurds. Human rights reports indicate otherwise, claiming that most Kurds remain stateless and unable to apply for nationality, and that the decree did not address the situation of the Maktoumeen.