Legal Identity and Housing, Land and Property Rights of Syrian Refugees from a Durable Solutions Perspective Challenges and Opportunities 2.2.1 Legislative and policy changes improving access to civil registration for Syrians Since the start of the conflict, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon have adopted laws and policies to facilitate access to civil registration for displaced Syrians. In Syria, amendments to the Civil Status Law in 2017 expanded the range of family members and public departments eligible to obtain copies of civil documents for Syrians unable to access the civil registry41 and also allowed spouses and legal custodians to obtain replacement family booklets.42 In March 2021, the new Civil Status Law introduced additional provisions that may further increase access to civil registration. These include a threefold extension of the period in which Syrian nationals can register vital events43 and provides that the registration of these events and obtaining of civil documents can occur at any civil registry centre in the country.44 The law also offers clarity and further expands the list of persons eligible to register and obtain birth and death certificates and family booklets. The fees, fines, and penalties related to civil registration have increased under the new law. A legislative decree introduced in April 2021,45 however, exempted Syrian citizens and persons of equivalent status for six months from fines imposed by the 2021 Civil Status Law for registering vital events or obtaining ID cards after the legal time limits. This exemption was granted in Syria and at Syrian embassies.46 A previous legislative decree, issued in July 2019, provided a more limited, yearlong exemption from fees as well as fines for the delayed registration of vital events for certain categories of Syrians.47 Photo: NRC 41 42 43 44 45 In Jordan, between 2016 and 2019, the government, in coordination with UNHCR, facilitated the Urban Verification Exercise (UVE) to regularise the legal status of all Syrian nationals in non-camp settings. As part of the exercise, over 20,000 UNHCR asylum-seeker certificates were issued to Syrian refugees.48 Registration as a refugee increases the ability to access the Jordanian justice system, which is necessary to register vital events through legal proceedings.49 The exercise also facilitated the return of Syrian refugees’ identity and civil documents that had been retained at the border by Jordanian authorities at the time of entry to Jordan.50 46 47 48 49 50 Syrian Civil Status Law, Legislative Decree No.26/2007 art. 22, as amended by Law No. 4/2017. The Syrian civil registration system is known as the Nofous. Syrian Civil Status Law, Legislative Decree No.26/2007 art. 64, as amended by Law No. 4/2017. Syrian Civil Status Law, Law No. 13/2021, art. 14(a). The period that has been given by the 2021 Civil Status Law to register vital events that take place in Syria with the Civil Status Department has been extended from one month to three months. The period for the registration of vital events that take place abroad has been extended from three months to nine months. Previously, Syrians have had to return to the registry office in their place of origin to register vital life events or obtain ID cards and family booklets. Syrian Legislative Decree No. 7/2021. As announced on the Government of Syria website http://sana.sy/?p=1357264 Legislative Decree No. 11/2019. The waiver was in place from 21 July 2019 to 20 July 2020 and applied to Syrians who could prove that they were ‘resident in terrorism-affected areas’ or that they had been displaced inside or outside of Syria as a result of ‘terrorism’. The Decree did not make a legal provision for Syrian diplomatic missions to waive their fees and fines. UNHCR Jordan Factsheet, March 2019, https://reliefweb.int/report/jordan/ unhcr-jordan-factsheet-march-2019 (accessed 29 July 2021). Clutterbuck, M. et.al., 2018, Establishing Legal Identity for Displaced Syrians, Forced Migration Review No. 57, Syrians in Displacement, February 2018. In total, around 219,000 documents were retained up to 2014, when the practice ended. The process of returning documents was then included in the UVE. See, NRC, 2016, Securing Status: Syrian refugees and the documentation of legal status, identity, and family relationships in Jordan, p. 14, https://www.nrc. no/globalassets/pdf/reports/securing-status.pdf 8