The Syrian Initiative to Combat Statelessness 82 Proposal to amend Legislative Decree No. (276) in line with women’s rights It should be noted that the application of the right to equality in conferring nationality doesn’t contravene with the core idea on which the proposal is based, which is, “nationality shall descend to child, provided the equality in transmission from the mother and the father.” It is hereby proposed as follows: The recognition of maternal jus sanguinis (right of blood) shall be the basis to establish original Syrian nationality and filiation, by the force of law, in regard to children born to Syrian women, regardless of the place of birth or the circumstances of birth of the child. Article 3(d) of the legislative decree is clear evidence of the potential effectiveness of the previous proposal, as it includes a provision granting Syrian nationality to children born inside wedlock, born inside Syria and are not entitled to a foreign nationality at birth. In other words, children born to foreign parents are entitled to acquire Syrian nationality, whereas they are denied nationality when the mother is Syrian, which is considered a defect in the law that cannot be overlooked. As per the above-mentioned, a proposal is made to repeal paragraph (b) of article 3, in order to recognize the right of maternal filiation in relation to the child, without supporting it with jus soli (the right of soil). The paragraph after the amendment shall be as follows: |“Anyone born inside or outside the country to a Syrian Mother.”