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KurdistanObserver.com
Syria: Follow Through on Commitment to
Grant Citizenship to Stateless Kurds
11/10/2005
Contact: Maureen Lynch
ri@refugeesinternational.org or 202.828.0110
Syria is at an important crossroads. One key to maintaining stability and
security in the country is for the government to recognize and resolve the
plight of 300,000 Kurds who cannot avail themselves of thefundamental human
right to a nationality and its concomitant rights. “It is like being buried
alive,” one stateless man told Refugees International.
In 1962, when a census was conducted in the Hasakeh governorate under Decree No.
93, an estimated 120,000 people or about 20 percent of Syrian Kurds lost their
citizenship, a number which has since more than doubled. Many persons who lost
their nationality also later lost rights to their property, which was seized by
the government and used for the re-settlement of displaced Arabs. The census was
said to be part of a political agenda to Arabize the northeast, an area rich in
resources, and to identify illegal migrants. To retain citizenship, Kurds had to
prove residence in Syria dating from 1945 or before. Implementation of this
order went severely awry. Even Kurds with proof of residence lost nationality;
others were compelled to pay large bribes to retain it. To this day many
families have members who remained nationals and others who did not.
Most denationalized Kurds are labeled “Ajanib” (“foreigner” in Arabic) and
issued identity cards by the Ministry of Interior, stating they are not Syrian
nationals and are not entitled to travel. But a significant number of stateless
Kurds in Syria do not possess even this identity document and are effectively
invisible. They are called “Maktoumeen” (unregistered) and now number between
75,000 and 100,000.
The difficulties faced by stateless Kurds in Syria are many, despite Syria’s
obligations as a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination. Individuals have irregular access to education,
health care, livelihoods, travel, property ownership, judicial and political
systems, and registration of businesses, marriages, and children. Statelessness
affects every
part of daily life. “Our condition in worse than that of a criminal,” a man from
Qamishli said. “They can own a car or house. We can’t.” A young woman told RI,
“When I was young, I was not sensitive to my status. Now I know it will affect
my education, my job, and my
marriage.”
The Syrian government recognizes the right of Kurdish children to a primary
education. Stateless Kurds face difficulty enrolling in secondary schools and
universities, however, and even those who do find it impossible to obtain
employment in many of their fields of expertise. Ajnabis are restricted from
government jobs and the practice of law or medicine. They can practice other
professions such as teaching or engineering in severely restricted ways. Many
say they obtain an education in vain. When an Ajnabi engineering student in
Aleppo was asked about plans after graduation, he shrugged and said, “I will
probably work as a porter lifting boxes onto trucks.”
It is next to impossible for Maktoumeen to access higher education. Not only
must the children go through considerable administrative processes and delays in
registering for primary education, but they must also obtain permission from
state security to attend secondary school. Maktoumeen children do not receive a
diploma from secondary school, preventing university enrollment. No stateless
Kurd, even those at the top of their class, can access government
scholarships for post-graduate education abroad.
With limited access to employment, a majority of stateless Kurds in Syria work
in the informal sector or practice professions without a license or in an
extremely limited capacity. A doctor sells tea on the street, a lawyer works as
a barber, a man educated as a teacher transports flour sacks, and another left
his family in the northeast region to work in a Damascus hotel restaurant. Due
to the inability to find employment, one Syrian Kurdish man explained how he
signed a statement that he was a Syrian Arab in order to retain rights
associated with Syrian citizenship. Economic consequences of limited access to
the labor market compel many Maktoumeen children to work picking cotton fields,
selling cigarettes or lottery tickets, cleaning windows, shining shoes, working
as porters, and helping in mechanic shops.
Official marriage registration is a particularly painful point for many
stateless Kurds. Ajnabi men who marry Ajanbia women, and male nationals who
marry Ajnabia women, may register their marriages and pass their status onto
their children. All other marriages, such as those between Ajnabi and Maktoumeen
or between stateless men and women who are nationals, cannot be registered
officially, even if a court decree is obtained recognizing the marriage. Men and
women in such families are listed on their identity cards as “single”, which
poses problems for the registration of children on family identity cards and
even prevents married couples from sharing a room in a hotel. Many Kurdish
families who have Syrian nationality refuse to allow their children to marry
Ajanibi or Maktoumeen for these reasons.
Ownership and registration of businesses and property is also difficult. With no
nationality, Kurds can not obtain property deeds or register cars or businesses.
Some use the names of friends or relatives who are nationals to circumvent these
issues. Yet this arrangement forces them to rely upon the good faith of such
persons and the problem still remains that they cannot pass on ownership of
property to their children. Individuals who marry Syrian nationals often
register property under the names of their spouses. Unlike the Maktoumeen,
Ajanibi can obtain drivers licenses and cash checks; but neither are permitted
to open bank accounts or obtain commercial drivers licenses.
Having few options to ensure basic survival, much less development, some
stateless Kurds seek their opportunities abroad. With no travel documents, they
take tremendous risks attempting to leave Syria, entrusting their safety to
human smugglers and pay sums between SYP 150,000 and 600,000 (USD 3,000 to
12,000). They risk death, deportation, and imprisonment as consequences. While
no official statistics are available, it is said that most families have had at
least one member smuggled to another country.
“The world has shut its eyes to our problem,” declares a stateless Kurd. Syria
and the world community, led by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
must take concrete steps to end statelessness. Earlier this year, Syrian
President Bashar al Assad made an official proclamation that now is the time to
redress this very old problem. He stated that governorates would be charged with
helping a large number of stateless Kurds obtain their nationality. To date,
there has been no concrete follow-up. The UNHCR has a mandate for stateless
persons, but has failed to act on behalf of Kurds without nationality in Syria.
Refugees International recommends that:
The Government of Syria
Grant citizenship to all individuals lacking effective nationality in accordance
with Article 3 of the Syrian Nationality Act and international law. Begin a
program of reparations and development for Kurds who lost property and status in
1962. Recognize Kurdish culture and language within Syrian society. Ensure every
child born in Syria has the right to acquire a nationality and is not stateless.
Enact legislation to permit passage of nationality from mother to child. Become
party to the 1954 Convention Relating to the status of Stateless Persons and the
1961 Convention on the Prevention of Statelessness. The UN High Commissioner for
Refugees
Broaden focus and operations to include stateless persons in addition to
refugees as mandated. Work with the Syrian government to end statelessness
in the country, including affected Kurds. Provide relief consistent with its
agency mandate to address stateless people. Identify a staff team to work
actively on ending statelessness in Syria. Open UNHCR branch offices in regions
of the country where statelessness is most severe. The United States and
Concerned Governments
Establish a clear policy on Kurds in Syria, including resolution of the
statelessness issue. Include more details on conditions faced by stateless
persons in annual human rights reports. Support the development of civil
organizations, including ones to achieve greater communication and understanding
between Syrian Arabs and Kurds.
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Refugees International Director of Research Maureen
Lynch visited Syria in October, accompanied by Perveen
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