 UNDERSTANDING STATELESSNESS IN THE SYRIA REFUGEE CONTEXT PROTECTING THE RIGHT TO SYRIAN NATIONALITY: ACCESS TO CIVIL REGISTRATION 3 As already stated, the majority of refugees from Syria, including children born in exile, hold Syrian nationality and the risk of statelessness among them is marginal. However, problems may arise in respect of the recognition of nationality for some refugees, especially in situations of protracted displacement and for children born in exile, if preventative steps are not taken.104 Access to birth registration,105 in particular, is critical since “the lack of civil registration and related documentation makes persons vulnerable to statelessness and associated protection risks”.106 Since 2011, more than 300,000 children from Syria have been born in exile,107 and, for instance, in Azraq refugee camp, located in North Jordan, on average 70 children are born every month.108 For these children, birth registration provides proof of their identity, family links 104 See, among others, B. Manby, Identification in the context of forced displacement, supra n5. 105 Birth registration is defined by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as “the official recording of a child’s birth by the State. It is a permanent and official record of a child’s existence. Birth registration is part of an effective civil registration system that acknowledges the person’s existence before the law, establishes family ties and tracks the major events of an individual’s life, from live birth to marriage and death.” For more information, see UNICEF, A passport to protection: A guide to birth registration programming, 2013, available at: http://www.unicef.org/protection/files/UNICEF_Birth_Registration_ Handbook.pdf. 106 UNHCR Executive Committee, Conclusion on civil registration, 2013, No.111(LXIV)-2013, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/525f8ba64.html. See also UNHCR, Child Protection Issue Brief: Birth Registration, 2013, available at: http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/523fe9214.pdf. 107 UNHCR, Addressing Statelessness in the Middle East and North Africa, supra n14, page 10. 108 The Independent, Birth rate soars in Jordan refugee camp as husbands discourage wives from using contraception, 13 March 2016, available at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/ middle-east/birth-rate-soars-in-jordan-refugee-camp-as-husbands-discourage-wives-from-usingcontraception-a6928241.html. 26 RESEARCH REPORT