acquire another nationality should be considered Syrian (Articles 3(c) and 3(d)).28 In practice, however, these provisions have not always been applied, especially in the case of stateless Kurds and Palestinians where statelessness is inherited across multiple generations. This increases the risk of statelessness for individuals within Syria, particularly for children born to unknown or stateless fathers,29 or those who have been internally displaced by the conflict. UNHCR stated in March 2019, “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.”30 Moreover, the fact that the safeguard against statelessness for children is limited to those born inside Syria, this increases the risk of statelessness for Syrian refugees. 18. While a number of positive elements were introduced within the 2012 revision to the country’s 1973 Constitution (2012 Constitution), such as a prohibition on sex-based discrimination, there is a need to address the ensuing contradictions between the Constitution and other areas of national legislation (e.g. the Nationality Law and Personal Status Code). That said, there is still room for further improvement in the constitution and the committee(s) currently mandated to work on a new draft should take into account recommendations on strengthening civil law and removing the exclusionary Arabist identity imposed on the country’s citizenry. Gender Discrimination in Syria’s Nationality Law 19. In contravention of Syria’s international obligations under CEDAW, ICCPR and CRC set out above, Syria’s 1969 Nationality Law denies women the right to confer citizenship on their children and spouse on an equal basis with Syrian men. Article 3(a) states that “anyone born inside or outside the country to a Syrian Arab father…shall be considered as Syrian Arabs ipso facto”. In contrast, mothers are only permitted to pass on Syrian citizenship to their children in rare circumstances (and it is unclear whether these provisions are even implemented in practice). Article 3(b) states that where the “legal family relationship” to a child’s father has “not been established” and the child is born inside Syria to a Syrian mother, that child is considered a Syrian citizen. This means that this only applies to children born inside Syria and to those whose fathers are unknown, not those whose fathers are stateless. Moreover, Article 3(d) states that Syrian mothers can confer nationality if the child was born in Syria and “was not, at the time of birth, entitled to acquire foreign nationality by virtue of his parentage”, meaning women can confer nationality if the child was not entitled at the time of their birth to acquire the nationality of a foreign father. These provisions are, therefore, clearly gender discriminatory. 28 Article 3(C) and 3(D) state, respectively, that the following people shall be considered Syrian: “Anyone born in the country to unknown parents or to parents of unknown nationality or without one. A foundling in the country is considered to be born there and in the place where he was found, unless proven otherwise”; and “A person who was born in the country and was not entitled, at the time of his birth, to acquire a foreign nationality by filiation”. Nationality Law, Legislative Decree 276, 1969, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4d81e7b12.html. Arabic version available at: http://www.casi.gov.sy/node15/arabic/eindex.php?node=5518&cat=14816&nid=14816&print=1. 29 European Network on Statelessness and Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, “Statelessness in Syria,” August 2019, available at: https://statelessjourneys.org/wp-content/uploads/StatelessJourneys-Syria-August2019.pdf. 30 UNHCR, “Background Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness 2019,” 8 March 2019, at 7, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5c8120847.html. 6