 UNDERSTANDING STATELESSNESS IN THE SYRIA REFUGEE CONTEXT 5.2.2.1 Inability to access documentation Civil registration procedures in all countries require certain documents in order to register events such as births or marriages.270 Without documentation of identity, or with documents specifically for stateless persons that are not understood or not recognised by many authorities, stateless refugees may be unable to access other documents. The stateless Kurds interviewed in Lebanon, for example, had all registered with UNHCR and obtained a registration certificate, however, none had made any attempt to obtain any other civil document (such as a marriage certificate) inside Lebanon as they did not believe they could obtain them.271 Khalid, a Maktoum Kurd now living in an ITS in Lebanon, had not attempted to register the birth of his child as he believed that the family did not have the required documents needed to access the civil registration system. He had been able to obtain the birth notification from the health authority as they are registered with UNHCR and therefore the mother was able to give birth in a public hospital. However, he had not tried to take the next steps in the registration process, as some of his neighbours in the same position as him had failed to register their children. He possessed a taaref document but had heard that this was not accepted by the Lebanese authorities.272 His child was born in 2014, so at the time he was interviewed the one-year deadline for birth registration had long passed, making it even more difficult for Khalid to register the child’s birth.273 5.2.2.2 Illegal entry The majority of stateless refugees interviewed for this research had entered the host country irregularly. The research did not attempt to establish whether the frequency of illegal entry was higher among stateless refugees than among other refugees – but the stateless refugees who were interviewed indicated that they believed that they could not enter countries through formal channels and so felt that there was no other way to flee Syria. When an individual has entered the country illegally, it can mean that there are difficulties returning legally to Syria or obtaining a legal stay in the host country.274 PRS face particular challenges in entering all host countries.275 Jordan, for instance, started denying entry to Palestinians fleeing from Syria early on in the conflict.276 Among those who have entered Jordan, irregularly or not, many have been detained and deported back to Syria or left at the borders and this has resulted in many PRS going into hiding, afraid to approach the authorities because they may be detained and/or deported.277 This also means they may not attempt to access civil registration procedures. 270 See section 3.1.1 of this report. 271 It is not clear from this research whether the stateless were more likely not to obtain documents in Lebanon, but they felt that their legal status prevented them from doing so. 272 Interview with Khalid, Tripoli Lebanon, June 2016. 273 See further section 3.1.1 of this report. 274 Note that under international refugee law, the penalisation of refugees for illegal entry is prohibited. See article 31 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, available at: http://www.unhcr. org/3b66c2aa10. 275 For example, to enter Lebanon due to restrictions on their entrance. See European Commission, Lebanon: Syria Crisis, 2016, available at: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/ lebanon_syrian_crisis_en.pdf. 276 HRW, ‘Jordan: Palestinians Escaping Syria Turned Away’, 7 August 2014, available at: https://www.hrw. org/news/2014/08/07/jordan-palestinians-escaping-syria-turned-away. 277 For more information see HRW, Not Welcome: Jordan’s Treatment of Palestinians Escaping Syria, 2014 available at https://www.hrw.org/report/2014/08/07/not-welcome/jordans-treatment-palestiniansescaping-syria. 50 RESEARCH REPORT