Report on Citizenship Law: Syria could reacquire citizenship through Decree No. 49.16 Although many tens of thousands were able to benefit17 from this, in practice it was not possible for all to access this decree. Since the law was not implemented fully, the problem of statelessness in this community still persists. There are still thousands of stateless Kurds who have attempted to apply but who were unable to, many who are abroad who cannot access the process, and most notably the issue of unregistered persons, the Maktoumeen, has not been addressed as they were not included in this decree.18 The current figure for stateless Kurds in Syria held by UNHCR is 160,000.19 It is important to note that even under the amended constitution of 2012, the notion of Syria as an Arab State is still prevalent and citizenship is framed as ‘Syrian Arab citizenship’, irrespective of the actual ethnicity of individual citizens. 2.1.2 Palestinians There have been several waves of Palestinian refugees that have come into Syria, most notably in the 1940s and the 1980s. Although always marketing itself as a supporter of the Palestinian cause, Syria has always denied Palestinians the right to acquire Syrian nationality. This stems from the idea that the only way to ensure the continuation of their ability to benefit from the right of return to Palestine is to prohibit them from naturalising in the country they live in.20 According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) that is mandated to assist Palestinians in several countries including Syria, there were 560,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria registered with UNRWA before the Syrian conflict broke out. The actual figure of Palestinians in the country is likely to be much higher given many may not have registered with UNRWA – those known as non-ID Palestinians.21 Since the conflict, UNRWA estimates that 160,000 registered Palestinian refugees fled Syria. In terms of their identity documents, different groups among the Palestinians have different documents.22 Due to the conflict, many Palestinians from Syria were displaced within Syria or became refugees. Because of their lack of citizenship, some faced additional hardships and displacement, such as being refused entry into neighbouring countries, being delayed in their 16 For more information on this decree see Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion / European Network on Statelessness, From Syria to Europe: Experiences of Stateless Kurds and Palestinian Refugees from Syria Seeking Protection in Europe, January 2019, at 9, available at: http://www.institutesi.org/from_Syria_to_Europe.pdf. 17 UN Human Rights Council, Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review – National Report of the Syrian Arab Republic, 28 September 2016, at 40, available at: https://undocs.org/en/A/HRC/WG.6/26/SYR/1. 18 For more information on the implementation of this decree see Mcgee, T, 2016, Update on Syrias Kurds, access at https://files.institutesi.org/WP2016_02.pdf. 19 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), In Search of Solutions: Addressing Statelessness in the Middle East and North Africa, September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57dbdaba4.htm. 20 Stemming from the Casablanca Protocol, League of Arab States, Protocol for the Treatment of Palestinians in Arab States (“Casablanca Protocol”), 11 September 1965, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/460a2b252.html. 21 According to the Syrian government there are “40,000 Palestinian refugees…not registered [with UNRWA], according to the records of the [Syrian] General Authority for Palestine Arab Refugees (GAPAR).” See UN Human Rights Council, Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review – National Report of the Syrian Arab Republic, 28 September 2016, at 15, available at: https://undocs.org/en/A/HRC/WG.6/26/SYR/1. 22 Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, Norwegian Refugee Council, Understanding statelessness in the Syria refugee context, 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/584021494.htm. RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2021/15 - © 2021 Author(s) 5