Executive Summary Decree No. 13 of 2026 marks a long-awaited step toward addressing one of Syria’s most protracted and complex statelessness situations: the deprivation of nationality affecting tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds as a result of the 1962 Exceptional Census in al-Hasakah Governorate. The consequences of these measures have extended across successive generations, affecting hundreds of thousands of people over more than six decades, during which they were denied legal recognition and equal access to fundamental rights and essential services. As part of efforts to remedy this longstanding injustice, Article 4 of Decree No. 13 of 2026 repeals the exceptional measures arising from the 1962 Exceptional Census and provides for the restoration of Syrian nationality to Kurdish individuals affected by those measures, including Unregistered Persons (Maktoumeen al-Qayd), while affirming their full equality in rights and obligations as Syrian citizens. Committees tasked with receiving nationality applications from Kurdish Unregistered Persons began accepting submissions on 6 April 2026 for an initial period of thirty days. Following calls from local communities and human rights actors, the application period was subsequently extended by an additional fifteen days to enable a greater number of eligible individuals to benefit from the process. According to an announcement issued by the Ministry of Interior on 22 May 2026, the official committees received 2,892 family applications, including legal authorizations covering 10,516 individuals. These figures reflect both the accumulated demand for nationality restoration and the strong willingness of affected persons to regularize their legal status. At the same time, estimates by the Network of Statelessness Victims in al-Hasakah indicate that significant numbers of persons eligible under the Decree remain outside the registration process, particularly refugees and Syrians residing in neighbouring countries and across Europe, whose numbers are expected to amount to several thousand families. On 11 June 2026, the General Administration for Civil Affairs announced the completion of the application submission process and the commencement of the review of applications by the competent committees, as a preparatory step toward completing the nationality restoration process. It also announced the scheduling of applicant interviews and granted an additional deadline for persons residing abroad whose applications had been submitted by relatives, enabling them to complete the required procedures. This report is based on field monitoring, interviews with Unregistered Persons (Maktoumeen al-Qayd) and their family members inside and outside Syria, observations from registration centres, and a legal analysis of the procedures in place. It assesses the opportunities and challenges associated with the implementation of Article 4 of Decree No. 13 of 2026 concerning the restoration of Syrian nationality to stateless Kurds affected by the exceptional measures linked to the 1962 Census, and evaluates the extent to which current procedures are able to reach all eligible persons in a fair, effective, and inclusive manner. SYNERGY | contact@hevdesti.org | www.hevdesti.org Page 4 of 19