 UNDERSTANDING STATELESSNESS IN THE SYRIA REFUGEE CONTEXT 5.2.3 DURABLE SOLUTIONS Concerns were also raised by those interviewed for this research about the long-term situation of stateless refugees. There are three widely recognised durable solutions for refugees – voluntary repatriation, local integration and resettlement286 – and there were a number of signs of potential problems in relation to these solutions, as outlined below. 5.2.3.1 Voluntary repatriation In Lebanon, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Response prioritised interventions “to facilitate, as a requirement for their future repatriation, access of persons displaced from Syria to civil documentation as per Lebanese laws and regulations”,287 highlighting the existing recognition of the importance and urgency of documentation. There may be obstacles to repatriation, where the country of origin denies that the individual belongs to that State and/or the returnee is prevented from crossing the border to re-enter.288 In the future refugees from Syria who are stateless or who cannot prove their nationality may find that they are refused permission to cross the border and re-enter Syria. In Jordan, interviews with the affected population disclosed examples of families trying to cross the border to return to Syria who have been denied exit by the Jordanian authorities on account of the absence of legal identity documents. Authorities contended in these cases that when a child does not possess any documents, they cannot be certain that the child belongs to the family and therefore restricted exit to avoid situations of human trafficking.289 5.2.3.2 Resettlement to a third country Resettlement is a durable solution that is of particular importance to refugees who have urgent protection needs.290 It has also been an important durable solution for stateless refugees; UNHCR reported that in the period 2009 – 2014, 20% of all refugees resettled by UNHCR were stateless as statelessness is considered a legal vulnerability that may qualify a refugee for resettlement.291 However there is a risk that stateless refugees will face obstacles in accessing – or indeed be denied the opportunity for – resettlement. Stateless persons may be disadvantaged in this respect, due to their (lack of) legal status. For example, the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme of the UK, which regulates the British resettlement of Syrian refugees, exclusively accommodates Syrian nationals, and therefore stateless persons do not fall within its scope. This is reportedly affecting the resettlement prospects of stateless Kurds from KRI.292 286 UNHCR, Refugee Protection and Mixed Migration: The 10-point plan, 2010, Chapter 7 – Solutions for Refugees, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/50a4c17f9.pdf. 287 OCHA, Lebanon Crisis Response Plan 2015-2016, supra n11. 288 Such problems have come to light in other displacement contexts, for instance in respect of a small sub-set of refugees who fled Liberia during the conflict and lived in exile for decades: when now trying to return, they are faced with questions over their nationality. See on this example and more broadly, B. Manby, Identification in the context of forced displacement, supra n5, pages 10-11. 289 Interview with Lama, Irbid Jordan, July 2016. 290 Resettlement is described as “the selection and transfer of refugees from a State in which they have sought protection to a third State which has agreed to admit them – as refugees – with permanent residence status. The status provided ensures protection against refoulement and provides a resettled refugee and his/her family or dependants with access to rights similar to those enjoyed by nationals. Resettlement also carries with it the opportunity to eventually become a naturalized citizen of the resettlement country.” UNHCR, Resettlement Handbook, 2011, available at: http://www.refworld.org/ docid/4ecb973c2.html page 3. 291 UNHCR, Ending statelessness within 10 years. A Special Report, 2014, available at: http://www.refworld. org/docid/572062254.html page 4. 292 For more information on the resettlement challenges see T. McGee, Statelessness Displaced, supra n234. 52 RESEARCH REPORT