Syrian Citizenship Disappeared less located within the site, such as large parts of lands owned by al-Basha, were registered into the name of the Syrian Arab Republic. Other properties were transferred into the name of municipalities111 of the areas where delimitation and registration took place.» It is worth mentioning that landowners could and did appeal the decisions of the judge before the Court of Appeal, which in turn took steps towards overruling the judgments. Cases are now pending. On the other hand, some stateless attempted to purchase their old properties back from the state and municipalities. The state firmly refused in the cases where the residential properties were registered as state ownership, but allowed the purchase of the properties that were registered in the name of municipalities. Solutions for properties of state ownership have yet to be found.”112 5.15. The Right to Marry and to Found a Family 1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. 3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State. Article 16 Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to 111 Properties registered in the names of municipality are designated for public interest such as schools, parks, roads, etc. Additionally it is purchasable. 112 He comes from Ras al-Ein/Sari Kani. He emigrated from Syria in 2014 and currently lives in Austria. He had been a lawyer until he left Syria. The interview was conducted via the Internet on July 30, 2018. 36 protection by society and the State. 2. The right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and to found a family shall be recognized. Article 23 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Although the right to form a family is considered a basic right, stateless people are barred from exercising it. Our research shows that the main obstacle lies in the impossibility for them to register their marriage or the birth of their children. Beyond the administrative hardship, this also impact the social fabric, as, foreseeing the obstacles this would entail, Syrian citizens oftentimes would not consider marrying a stateless. In that regard, it appears that women are particularly vulnerable. 1.5.15. Social Stigma Against the Stateless The stigma associated to being stateless impedes stateless on their way to social fulfiment. Sido reported: “A female friend of mine was ajnabiyah. She has graduated from the Faculty of Law. Whenever a man proposed to marry her, he changed his mind when he learned that she was a stateless. That hurt her feelings and she lost hope of a decent future.” Male stateless encountered the same problem. Mohammed Salih Ismael reported that his legal status as maktum caused barriers whenever he wanted to marry, adding: “When I courted girls, they rejected me because I had no future to offer. This made me feel mediocre and prevented me from leading the life I want. All I wanted was to register a child of mine legally in the Personal Status Department. I am even deprived of this right.”