Syria

Over 300,000 Syrian children have been born to parents in exile since 2011. Birth registration is crucial for the child’s future right to claim Syrian nationality. However, Syrian refugees face difficulties accessing birth registration. Displaced Syrians have reported that their embassy was effectively inaccessible to them because they feared jeopardizing their asylum claim. Documentation requirements, such as showing the father’s identity documents and a marriage certificate (and death certificate of the father, if applicable), also create major barriers to consular birth registration. Oftentimes marriage certificates have been lost, or are not recognized by the countries of asylum if they were issued by non-state actors, such as ISIS. A 2025 NGO submission to CEDAW echoed how, in this context of displacement, proving a child’s father is a Syrian national is incredibly difficult and can increase the risk of child stateless.