REGISTRATION OF UNDOCUMENTED REFUGEE CHILDREN WHO WERE BORN IN SYRIA Refugee children born in Syria who were not registered at birth or issued any form of identity documentation before they fled represent a particular challenge. Under international law, only the State in which a child is born (in this case Syria) has an obligation to register birth; no obligation falls on States to which people are displaced. In 2015, approximately 44,000 completely undocumented Syrian refugee children were identified in Jordan; the majority were born in Syria before they fled. By 2016, the application of complementary and flexible new approaches had reduced the number to approximately 8,800. Some cases are resolved by a Special Protection Committee on Complex Cases, which has power to issue to undocumented Syrian refugee children an official identity document that includes the data traditionally found on a birth certificate. In the majority of cases, however, since 2017 the Jordanian authorities have issued Ministry of Interior service cards to undocumented Syrian refugee children, based on the information contained in UNHCR certificates that provide basic bio-data such as the child’s name, date of birth, and nationality. The service card does not replace a birth certificate but affords refugee children vital protection because it is official proof of the child’s legal identity, accepted by Jordanian courts and the Civil Status Department. The card therefore facilitates the child’s access to services, including healthcare and education, and ultimately helps to prevent statelessness. Lack of basic identity documentation has caused some Syrian refugees to adopt dangerous coping mechanisms. Some undocumented refugee parents, for example, falsely registered their newborn children under the names of friends or relatives in an attempt to provide the child with a legal identity. Such acts incur the possible loss of child custody, and can jeopardize the child’s claim to nationality because citizenship that has been acquired fraudulently is generally revocable under Syrian law. Recognizing the immense difficulties and pressures on refugee families in this regard, the Government has agreed to refer such cases to the Special Protection Committee on Complex Cases. After careful investigation and verification of the actual parent-child relationship, the Committee issues official documentation to the concerned families that accurately reflects the child’s identity, age, biodata and parentage; the standard penalties are waived. Impact The measures outlined above combined to produce a 12-fold increase in the certification of refugee births in Jordanian camps in 2016 (3,642) and 2015 (3,645) compared to 2013 (295). Between 1 January and 31 July 2017, 3,050 Syrian refugee children living in camps and 2,810 Syrian children living in urban areas received birth certificates, confirming the trend. Government records indicate that, overall, 14,737 Syrian births were registered between January and July of 2017. This figure includes both Syrian children in camps and urban areas registered with UNHCR, and Syrian children not registered with UNHCR. The risk of statelessness among Syrian refugee children has been substantially reduced in Jordan, while refugee children also enjoy more protection against risks such as family separation, trafficking, illegal adoption and the possible denial of their rights to health and education. 19 CAMPAIGN TO END STATELESSNESS WITHIN 10 YE ARS