The Syrian Initiative to Combat Statelessness 78 ticle 9 and Sharia law, for there is a big difference between filiation, which is established according to Sharia and attributed to the father; and nationality, which is the relationship between the individual and the State, and it is a man-made law.” However, Paragraph 22662 of the report justified Syria’s reservation on article 9 “on the basis of national considerations regarding the return of Palestinian refugees and the need to preserve their identity and right of return.” Whereas paragraph 22763 of the same report states that the reason for Syria’s reservation on article 9 arises from a sovereign, not discriminatory, standpoint. It says “considering the critical geopolitical and strategic location of Syria. In addition to being a major transit center between continents, it is also an open State that welcomes and hosts newcomers, displaced persons, those fleeing the scourge of wars and asylum seekers; consequently, many marriages occur. Therefore, the impediments of granting nationality to children of Syrian women born to a non-Syrian father arise from a sovereign, not discriminatory, standpoint.” In addition to ratifying CEDAW, the Syrian regime had also ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 199364, which stipulates in article 7(1), “The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and, as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents.” While paragraph 2 of the same article stresses the obligation of all States to protect children from statelessness. In 1969, the Syrian regime ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) of 196665, which stipulates in article 24(3)66, “Every child has the right to acquire nationality.” The Covenant also stressed the obligations of all signatory States to grant the enjoyment of the rights provided in the Covenant without discrimination based on gender. Article 3 ensures, “the equal right of men and women to exercise all civil and political rights set forth in the present convention.” the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Second and third periodic reports of States Parties- paragraph 224 62 Consideration of reports submitted by States Parties under article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Second and third periodic reports of States Parties- paragraph 226 63 Ibid- paragraph 227 64 Convention on the Rights of the Child 65 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 66 Ibid- article 2