3. Freedom of Movement
The absence of official documentation imposed significant restrictions on freedom of
movement, both within Syria and across borders. Many individuals faced the risk of
detention, questioning, travel restrictions, and barriers to accessing services.
Rezan Mohammed recalled:
“Whenever we wanted to visit our relatives in al-Malikiyah, we faced multiple
problems. We were often stopped and questioned before being allowed to
continue our journey.”
Testimonies also indicate that these restrictions persisted after displacement and migration,
with many affected individuals encountering additional difficulties obtaining residency
permits or regularizing their legal status because they lacked identity documents.
4. Property Rights and Economic Security
The denial of nationality limited the ability of Unregistered Persons to register property and
manage their legal and financial affairs independently, undermining the economic security of
affected families and weakening the protection of their property rights.
Shergo Mousa stated:
“Our homes in the areas from which we were displaced are not registered in our
names.”
Similarly, Mohammed Youssef explained:
“Even our house was, and still is, registered in my mother’s name because she was
the only member of the family who held Syrian nationality.”
Interviews indicate that many families were forced either to register property in the names
of relatives who held Syrian nationality or to forgo formal registration altogether, creating
legally and economically precarious situations that persisted for years.
5. Registration of Marriages and Births
The lack of civil registration was among the most complex and enduring consequences of
statelessness, resulting in the accumulation of legal problems affecting family relationships
and associated rights.
Nalin Yezda, a widow from the Unregistered Persons category, stated:
“The challenges I faced became even greater after my husband’s death, particularly
because I did not have a family booklet documenting my marriage and my
children.”
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