● ● and freedoms of citizens. (Article 12[1]) All rights and freedoms stipulated in international human rights treaties, charters and agreements ratified by the Syrian Arab Republic are considered an integral part of this Constitutional Declaration. (Article 12[2]) The State shall guarantee the social, economic and political rights of women, and protect them from all forms of oppression, injustice and violence (Article 21[2]) There is an urgent need to address the contradictions between the Constitution and other areas of national legislation, especially the Nationality Law and Personal Status Code. The Impact of Gender Discrimination in Syria’s Nationality Law & Related Developments 12. Gender discrimination in Syria's nationality law contravenes Syria’s international obligations under CEDAW, ICCPR and CRC set out above. In addition to contravening international legal prohibitions on gender-based discrimination, gender discriminatory provisions in the 1969 Nationality Act stand in violation of the Constitutional Declaration of the Syrian Arab Republic (2025), including Articles 10, 12 and 21.”16 13. There are also important intersections between gender discrimination, religious freedom, nationality rights, and women’s right to choose a spouse. The previous Syrian regime did not permit a Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim man, which affects a women’s ability in practice to confer nationality upon her children under Article 3(d) of the 1969 Nationality Act and inhibits the ability of a non-Muslim Syrian man in practice to confer nationality on his child with a Muslim woman, due to their inability to provide a marriage certificate providing a legal link for paternity.17 Further, Article 3(b) of the 1969 Nationality Act clearly does not apply to the children of refugees from Syria who are born in host countries, further limiting the ability of children to acquire a nationality at birth. 14. Syria is one of 24 countries globally that discriminate against women in their ability to confer their nationality on their children on an equal basis with men. Gender discrimination in nationality laws violates international human rights law and results in wide-ranging human rights violations. Those without Syrian nationality due to gender discrimination in the law often face obstacles to equally accessing education, healthcare, inheritance and property rights, family unity and freedom of movement. Gender discrimination in the nationality law undermines women’s equal citizenship and their equality in the family, while inhibiting women’s right to freely choose a spouse and a place of residence in practice. Gender discrimination in nationality laws can perpetuate statelessness across generations, as male children who are rendered stateless through this provision will go on to have their own children who cannot access nationality if their mother is a Syrian citizen. The danger of inter-generational statelessness is further exacerbated by the 16 Constitutional Declaration of the Syria Arab Republic (Articles 10,12, and 21), available at: https://constitutionnet.org/sites/default/files/2025-03/2025.03.13%20%20Constitutional%20declaration%20%28English%29.pdf 17 Article 48 of the 1953 Syrian Personal Status Code states that Muslim women are not allowed to marry nonMuslim. A 2019 amendment of the 1953 Personal Status Code reworded this to “a marriage is void if any of the conditions of the marriage contract are violated”. 4