The Report of Syria to the Committee 3. The report of Syria to the Committee deals with various issues related the right of children to registration and nationality.2 Paragraphs 56 - 62 discuss some of the efforts of the authorities to tackle some of the challenges they face in relation to birth registration. Paragraph 56 sets out some of the efforts of the State to deal with destroyed registries inside Syria. Accordingly, the state has been working to create alternate and new centres for people to register the births of their children. Furthermore, the reports sets out that civil registration is now the responsibility of the Syrian Commission for Family and Population Affairs. Paragraph 60 details some of the efforts made by the authorities to raise public awareness on the registration of all vital events, such as workshops and training programmes in various regions across the country. 4. Paragraph 57, when discussing the registration of foreigners, mentions that the children of Maktoum can also have their birth registered. However they go on to say that this can take place even when the father is not alive, as long as there is legal proof that the father or grandfather is of Syrian origin. This is problematic as it may be nearly impossible for a Maktoum child to prove who their father or grandfather is, or what their nationality is. 5. Paragraphs 63 – 67 address the issue of nationality. It reiterates the naturalisation of Ajanib Kurds under decree 49 of 2011, claiming that over 70,000 persons have benefited and become nationals. The report also emphasises that this is an ongoing procedure. Paragraph 67 addresses gender discrimination in the nationality law, stating that the state is looking into revising Article 3 of the nationality law based on a draft law prepared by the Syrian Women’s League. The State does not provide any detail on what the draft law says. Syria’s International Legal Obligations 5. There are several gaps and challenges in the law and policy framework of Syria and its implementation, that result in children being denied the right to acquire a nationality and/or the right to birth registration and documentation. These children are rendered stateless, or at risk of statelessness. Most notably Syria’s nationality legislation is gender discriminatory, denationalised Kurds are unable to re-acquire nationality, mixed religious marriages are not recognised and there are no legal governance systems in non-state controlled areas. There are also challenges in practice and implementation, where for example families are unable to access civil registries or naturalisation procedures. These problems result in new-born children being unable to obtain a nationality, have their births registered, or acquire any documentation. Given the complex nature of the conflict and scale of displacement, the propensity for the problems in law, policy and practice to result in statelessness, including, of children born abroad, has significantly increased. 6. The gaps in law and policy that are detailed, specifically in Syria’s current nationality law which was enacted in 1969, through Legislative Decree 276, are in clear violation of the international obligations of Syria. This includes their obligations under Articles 7 and 8 of the CRC, Article 9 of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which calls on State parties to ensure that women and men have equal ability to acquire, change and 2 The report CRC/C/SYR/5 available in Arabic at http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC%2fC%2fSYR%2f5&Lang=en