UNDERSTANDING STATELESSNESS IN THE SYRIA REFUGEE CONTEXT  which can put refugees off approaching them for registration.138 Not only Syrian refugees, but also individuals working with and for them can be unsure of the procedures and steps, as well as lacking understanding of the importance of birth certificates in terms of avoiding the risk of statelessness. Across the different host States in which fieldwork was conducted, the refugees interviewed had no or a very limited understanding of the procedures, whilst relevant bodies (Sharia courts, healthcare officials and Mokhtars) all confirmed lack of knowledge of the population when they approached their offices. Those actors who have the widest reach in terms of contact with refugees, often do not have the time (and sometimes incentive) to explain complex procedures to refugee families. Significant work is already being undertaken in trying to address this lack of awareness. UNHCR has carried out public awareness campaigns in all countries covered by this research, for example handing out informational brochures on the procedures to register births139 and screening instructional videos on birth registration in registration and community centres.140 UNHCR’s Outreach Volunteers programmes have accompanied new mothers to hospitals and civil registration offices to assist them in the procedures.141 Other organisations142 provide counselling and public awareness-raising on civil documentation. Most of the organisations work with focal points from inside the refugee community and have substantial outreach to displaced families and individuals. NRC, through its ICLA programme, is providing legal aid in completing registration procedures, particularly obtaining birth and marriage certificates, in Lebanon, KRI143 and Jordan and has carried out activities such as national outreach programmes, research, public awareness campaigns, and the production of brochures which have been disseminated among the affected population and organisations involved in these procedures. By February 2015, in Lebanon, over 145,000 refugees had received ICLA services.144 Legal aid providers in Egypt provide advice to Syrian refugees on birth registration procedures and assist mothers in registering new births in difficult cases, such as those involving children born out of wedlock. According to UNHCR, these efforts have resulted in over 90% of Syrian refugee births being successfully registered in the country.145 3.2.2 HOST COUNTRIES’ LACK OF AWARENESS OF SYRIAN DOCUMENTS AND THE SYRIAN CIVIL REGISTRATION SYSTEM The lack of awareness and understanding about documents issued by the Syrian Government and their function is a problem across the region. For instance, is the taaref seen as a legitimate Syrian document and should it therefore be accepted in the host State? In both Lebanon and Jordan there was a difference in opinion among Mokhtars, lawyers and Sharia courts on whether to accept the taaref as a legitimate document that would enable holders to prove their identity.146 It is not seen as a legal document in Lebanon but it is at the discretion of the Mokhtar to decide whether it suffices as proof of identity. In KRI, government bodies located in different regions reportedly differed on whether they would accept the taaref document as legitimate, 138 Interview online with Yesim Mutlu, Middle East Technical University, Turkey. 139 For example UNHCR, Register the Birth of Your Children, Protect Their Rights!, 2015, available at https:// www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/system/files/documents/files/birth-registration-english-2015.pdf. 140 See an example of an instructional video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= fsmHvjeBODs&feature=youtu.be 141 UNHCR, Addressing Statelessness in the Middle East and North Africa, supra n14, pages 17-19. 142 Specifically JCLA, Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD), Harikar, Qandil, International Relief and Development (IRD), Intersos, Caritas Lebanon Migrant Centre (CLMC) and Caritas. 143 Here notably Qandil, Civil Development Organisation (CDO) and Harikar are also providing these services. 144 See NRC, The challenges of birth registration in Lebanon for refugees from Syria, supra n15. 145 3RP, Annual Report 2015, available at: http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/download.php?id=11002. 146 For example, interviews with Mokhtar, in Baalback Lebanon and Tripoli Lebanon differed; Interviews with JCLA Irbid Jordan and Sharia Court Irbid Jordan differed. RESEARCH REPORT 31