Report on Citizenship Law: Syria mother does not grant the automatic acquisition of her nationality. It is important to note that the application of the paternal jus sanguinis seems relatively unproblematic, but that the exceptions granted to mothers is in fact rarely implemented, which will be discussed further below. Not only would it often be societally problematic for many women to try and register a child born outside of wedlock due to local stigmas against this, but the authorities are mostly unwilling to implement this provision, or unaware that it exists. Alongside the main jus sangunis safeguards of the law there are some jus soli provisions that are relevant. Article 3 also allows for the adoption of the jus soli principle as the primary basis to prove the original Syrian nationality of specific groups of children. The groups are: ● children born inside Syria to unknown parents (foundlings), ● children born inside Syria to known parents of unknown nationality, ● children born inside Syria to known parents, but they do not enjoy any nationality (stateless) at birth. Notably, we see a positive safeguard for foundlings who are found on the territory who would be seen as Syrian nationals, which is seen to be well implemented. Also, what is clear with this third point is that is that Syrian law includes the safeguard widely prescribed by international law to ensure that statelessness is prevented at birth for all children born in the territory. This is a significantly positive component of the Syrian nationality law as it includes the safeguard that would immediately eliminate the possibility of new cases of statelessness stemming among children born in the country. However, in reality, this provision highlights the discrepancy between legislation and implementation, as intergenerational statelessness is a reality in the country. In terms of implementation, this safeguard is never seen to be executed. This is particularly illustrated by the fact that stateless individuals in Syria, predominantly from the Kurdish and Palestinian communities, are passing on their stateless status to their children even though their children would fall under the criteria of 3(d), they are not obtaining nationality. To highlight this, UNHCR stated in March 2019 that, “Syria has a safeguard in place to prevent statelessness among children born in the territory, but it is not clear that this is implemented in practice”.32 3.1.2 Naturalisation criteria There are no official statistics as to naturalisation numbers in the country (except for ajanib Kurds for which official figures were released some years ago), nor whether there are any naturalisation cases from individuals who are from the main stateless communities. It is difficult to assess therefore whether in practice individuals have been able to access naturalisation process in the country. What we do know is that all naturalisation applications are left to the discretion of the Minster of Interior (except in the case of the 2011 decree) which could leave space for the arbitrary application of this process. Naturalisation requirements in Syria are not specifically strict, especially comparatively to other legislation in the region, but have several flaws. The main requirements an individual needs to fulfil to become Syrian include: 32 UNHCR, Background Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness 2019, access at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5c8120847.html. RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2021/15 - © 2021 Author(s) 9