 UNDERSTANDING STATELESSNESS IN THE SYRIA REFUGEE CONTEXT 4.2 RISK PROFILES FOR PROBLEMS WITH PROOF OF IDENTITY AND NATIONALITY Each of the risk profiles described above relates to a scenario in which access to birth registration tends to be problematic and some form of intervention or assistance is needed in order to help refugees to navigate the process. In the following paragraphs, three further risk profiles are explored: 1) undocumented refugees; 2) refugees not registered with UNHCR; and 3) the Maktoum. 4.2.1 UNDOCUMENTED REFUGEES An individual who has no document to prove their identity or nationality and has been displaced from their country may be at risk of statelessness.199 In particular, if an individual’s record in the country of origin no longer exists and they cannot prove their identity or obtain documents in the host country there is a risk that the competent authority may not recognise them as a national.200 This risk increases over time and across generations. In Syria not all civil registration documents have been digitised, and with the conflict and the reported destruction of some civil registration offices,201 the loss of documents could prove problematic for refugees when trying to re-acquire proof of identity. In addition when documents have been lost or stolen, this may not be reported to the competent authorities, for example if the family lives in fear of arrest as they have not obtained a residence permit, and therefore it may become difficult to rectify their situation later on.202 There are also a significant number of children born in Syria who were neither registered at birth, nor issued any form of identity documentation prior to fleeing Syria. Since registering a birth which took place in another country is outside of the jurisdiction of the Civil Status Departments of host countries, registration of these births is more complicated and not always possible. However some good practices have been recently been put in place in Jordan, for example an increasing acceptance of witness testimonials to marriages.203 Finally, not having documents leads to problems in acquiring other documents – a vicious cycle that is difficult to break.204 Lana, currently residing in Irbid in Jordan, had to leave her hometown of Dar’a so suddenly during the conflict that she was not able to take her documents with her. She went back in late 2015 as she felt she needed to have her documents, especially her ID, to regularise her stay and work in Jordan. However, on her return, she discovered that her house had been destroyed by bombing and her documents with it. She had to return to Jordan quickly so was unable to apply for new documents.205 As well as not bringing any documents with them when they left Syria, the risk of refugees losing documents in the host countries is also a reported problem. In Lebanon, for example, the ITSs are particularly susceptible to floods and fires, leaving documents at risk of being destroyed.206 If a document is lost in an ITS, it often cannot be reported to either the Lebanese or Syrian authorities due to problems in gaining access to the relevant office, and the fear of approaching the authorities. In this light, some advice or help for refugees on how to preserve documents can be seen as a good practice. When a hospital or midwife for example provides a birth notification 199 See, amongst others, B. Manby, Identification in the context of forced displacement, supra n5. 200 Convention the Status of Stateless Persons, supra n4 and UNHCR, Handbook on the Protection of Stateless Persons, supra n4. 201 UNHCR, Addressing Statelessness in the Middle East and North Africa, supra n14, page 12. 202 Interview with Harikar, Duhok KRI, July 2016. 203 UNHCR, Addressing Statelessness in the Middle East and North Africa, supra n14, page 20. 204 Interview with Personal Status Department, Amman Jordan, July 2016. See also section 3.1.1 of this report. 205 Interview with Lana, Irbid Jordan, July 2016. 206 Interview with IRC, Beirut Lebanon, June 2016. 40 RESEARCH REPORT