Legal Identity and Housing, Land and Property Rights of Syrian Refugees from a Durable Solutions Perspective Challenges and Opportunities In KRI, the Kurdish authorities are reported to take a flexible approach towards the residency and registration processes for Syrian refugees, including stateless Kurds from Syria.51 Once refugees obtain a residency permit, they can travel freely within KRI – though not to Federal Iraq52 – and have access to civil registration mechanisms.53 In addition, a Personal Status Court located in Summel (Duhok) applies Syrian law if both parties are Syrian.54 51 52 53 In Lebanon, the government has, since the start of the crisis, taken steps to increase access to birth registration for the children of Syrian refugees born in Lebanon. This has included amending the requirements for marriage registration in September 2017, such that only one spouse requires legal residency,55 removing the requirement for a parent to have legal residency to complete the birth registration process56 and a simplification of procedures for delayed birth registration.57 In addition, in March 2019, the list of documents accepted as proof of marriage for birth registration and divorce was expanded.58 Legal residency is not required by law for death registration.59 Fines for late registration were suspended in October 2019, and the suspension period was extended in January 2021.60 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 Box 2: National Laws related to missing persons61 Across the region, a person is considered missing (almafqud)62 when their whereabouts are unknown and it is not known if he/she is alive or dead.63 The procedures for reporting someone missing and conducting a search for a missing person are different across the four countries. In general, a person has to be reported missing to the police and/or criminal public prosecutor who is then responsible for leading an investigation into the circumstances of the disappearance. If the missing person cannot be found and is believed to be dead, the family can initiate court proceedings to obtain a declaration of presumed death, either in the country where the person went missing or in the country of origin, depending on the available evidence/documentation. A missing person can be declared presumed dead by a competent court after the time set by national law has passed. The death should, subsequently, be recorded in the civil registry, or court records of the country where the person has been declared dead in absentia and in the country of origin. 61 62 63 For example, residency permits are granted to Syrian refugees that provide freedom of movement within KRI. Refugees have the right to education free of charge in public schools (on par with Iraqi nationals), the right to work in the private sector, and have access to health services in KRI. See: Durable Solutions Platform, 2019, Far from Home: Future Prospects for Syrian Refugees in Iraq, https://dsp-syria.org/far-home-future-prospects-syrian-refugees-iraq Refugees and asylum seekers holding a valid residency permit for KRI are free to move within the governorates of KRI only. The resident permit for KRI is not valid for travel to the central and southern governorates of Iraq. Attempting to travel outside KRI without proper clearance may subject refugees and asylum seekers to risks of arrest, detention, or deportation. See: https://help.unhcr.org/ iraq/en/rights-and-obligations/civil-documentation-and-residency/ (accessed 25 August 2021). UNHCR Iraq, see: https://help.unhcr.org/iraq/en/rights-and-obligations/civil-documentation-andresidency/ (accessed 25 August 2021). Communication with NRC ICLA Iraq/KRI, August 2021. Government of Lebanon & UN RC/HC Lebanon, Lebanon Crisis 2017–2020 (2020 Update), p. 14, https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/74641. UNHCR, December 2019, Global Compact on Refugees: Lebanon’s Good Practices; UNHCR, July 2020, Q&A on birth registration for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, http://www.refugees-lebanon.org/uploads/poster/ poster_152777827470.pdf. See Section 3.1.1 Country-specific challenges for full details on birth registration procedures and related waivers in Lebanon. The Circular no. 34/2019, issued by the PSD on 13 March 2019, detailed that when executing a birth, divorce or marriage annulment (in case the marriage was executed in Lebanon), a certified copy of the marriage certificate and a marriage attestation issued by the Syrian Embassy can be provided instead of the family booklet or family extract, which had previously been required. The practice of requesting the residency permit of the deceased to complete death registration - which according to NRC Lebanon ICLA staff occurred at some Nofous offices throughout Lebanon - ended in 2016. NRC Lebanon, 2019, Briefing Note: Death registration and burial: Challenges for Syrian Refugees in Lebanon; Communication with NRC ICLA Lebanon August 2021. All legal, judicial and contractual deadlines, including the civil registration deadlines, were suspended for the period 18 October 2019 – 31 December 2020 (Law No. 160/2020 and Law No. 185/2020), and extended again as of 14 January 2021, for as long as the COVID-19-related lockdown lasts as part of the general mobilisation period (Law No. 212/2021). Based on Law 212/2021, the Personal Status Department issued a memo extending the suspension of deadlines until 31/3/2021. The issue of missing persons is covered in international humanitarian law, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions I-IV and the 1977 Additional Protocols I-II, as well as international human rights law, including – but not limited to – the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the 2006 International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. In Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon, missing persons’ issues are regulated by the laws of personal status (and/or similar related laws), civil (procedural) laws and criminal procedural laws. Lebanon is the only country with a special law on missing and forcibly disappeared persons, namely the Law on Missing and Forcibly Disappeared Persons, Law 105/2018, promulgated in November 2018, http://pcm.gov.lb/archive/j2018/j52/wfn/n105.htm. This law was drafted following the advocacy work of families of persons who went missing during the civil war (1975-1990). On 18 June 2020, the Lebanese government appointed the members of the National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared (established in 2018 by Law 105/2018). In Jordan, certain individuals (e.g., a wife) can file a case in relation to maintenance or divorce before a Shariʻa court when a person is absent (gha’ib). In these proceedings, the court can appoint a curator and/or issue a divorce ruling based on absence of the husband. NRC Jordan, June 2020, Briefing Note: Legal Pathways for Death Registration. Analysis of legal pathways to register death in Jordan (Internal document). 9