Legal Identity and Housing, Land and Property Rights of Syrian Refugees from a Durable Solutions Perspective Challenges and Opportunities Section 3 Reality on the Ground 3.1 Obtaining civil documents in host countries Syrian refugees’ ability to access legal identity and obtain civil documentation has not been static throughout the conflict. Access has been dependent on an individual’s location and has been affected by the introduction of new policies and laws. Although improvements have been made across the region,74 many Syrian refugees in KRI, Jordan, and Lebanon remain without documentation and reported common challenges to access the civil documentation they need. In many cases, a lack of access to civil documentation can be attributed to a number of challenges, rather than a single factor. Refugees may encounter difficulties due to a lack of awareness of the requirements and processes to obtain legal and civil documentation in host countries, including strict time limits for registration75 – this is particularly relevant for death registration.76 Prohibitive costs also present a challenge, especially in cases of late registration. This is, for example, evident in Lebanon where 69 per cent of Syrian children born in the country are not fully registered and documented (i.e., at the level of the Foreigners’ Registry),77 reportedly primarily due to the combined challenges of a lack of awareness of registration procedures and the prohibitive cost of fees and transportation.78 Photo: UNHCR / Mohammad Hawari 74 75 76 77 78 For instance, the number of Syrian refugee children born in 3RP (Regional Refugee & Resilience Plan) countries with an official birth certificate has increased to approximately 80 per cent. See: League of Arab States & UNHCR, May 2021, I am Here: Belonging and Legal Identity in the Arab Region: Ensuring that every child, woman and man belongs and has a legal identity, https://data2. unhcr.org/en/documents/details/86737 KII for joint UNHCR/NRC regional research, 2020; NRC & IHRC, 2015, Registering Rights: Syrian Refugees and the Documentation of Births, Marriages, and Deaths in Jordan, https://www.nrc.no/resources/reports/registraring-rights/; NRC & IHRC, 2016, Securing Status: Syrian refugees and the documentation of legal status, identity, and family relationships in Jordan. In Iraq and Jordan, deaths have to be registered within seven days (Iraqi Birth and Death Registration Law, Law 148/1971, art. 18; Jordanian Civil Status Law, Law 9/2001, art. 26(a)). In Jordan, if more than one year has elapsed since the death, proof of death must be obtained through a lawsuit (Jordanian Civil Status Law, arts. 34–35). In Lebanon, deaths have to be registered within 45 days; if a death is registered after this deadline, a fine is usually imposed (Lebanese Personal Status Registration Law, 1951, art. 30). 2021 Preliminary Results of the Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees (VASyR Lebanon), 2021, https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/88960. The Foreigners’ Registry is a separate department of the Personal Status Department at governorate level; in addition to registration with the local PSD, refugees need to register their life events with the Foreigners’ Registry. In 2020, birth registration at the level of the Foreigners’ Registry was 28% compared to 30% in 2019. See: 2020 Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon (VASyR Lebanon), p. 33–35; see also, 2019 Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon (VASyR Lebanon), https://data2. unhcr.org/en/documents/details/73118. Similar findings were found by NRC, NRC Lebanon, February 2019, Briefing Note: Late Birth Registration for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. 12