Published on: 2026-11-05
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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November 4, 2026 Peace and Security
Many children born in Syria after the outbreak of the civil war in 2011 do not have officially recognized status, as Syrian law allows citizenship to be passed only through the father’s line. Meanwhile, many fathers have died or are listed as missing. This was warned on Wednesday by a representative of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria of the United Nations.
“A child born during the war did not choose the war,” Monia Ammar said. “He did not choose the violent disappearance of his father or his mother’s unregistered marriage. However, it is he who has to pay for all of this.”
Ammar spoke at a high-level meeting in Geneva, co-organized with the Syrian government. During the session, the commission presented a new analytical document dedicated to this issue.
According to Ammar, the lack of official documents for children is one of the most severe consequences of the conflict.
The Minister of Social Policy of Syria, Hind Kabawat, informed the participants of the meeting that the reform allowing mothers to pass citizenship to their children is close to approval.
“The wall of bureaucratic procedures”
According to the Syrian Nationality Law of 1969, if the father is absent, the child ends up “in a legal vacuum,” Ammar noted. She called this law a manifestation of gender discrimination that “affects girls doubly.” Moreover, the provisions of the law contradict Syria’s obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
The commission does not have precise data on the number of children affected by this issue, but experts have repeatedly spoken with widows and mothers who, according to Ammar, “do not have a single document proving that their children legally exist.” Such women face a “wall of bureaucratic procedures” and public condemnation, and many ultimately simply give up trying to register their children.
© UKGV/A. Suleiman Disabled girl in a camp for displaced persons.
Ammar welcomed the steps taken by the authorities after the fall of the previous regime, but warned that “no matter how important legislative reforms are, they are not sufficient on their own” unless accompanied by changes in administrative practices and public consciousness.
The commission’s document contains a call to register every child regardless of the circumstances of their birth, to recognize alternative identity documents, and to grant citizenship to children of Syrian mothers.
“Invisible” children to the state
Syrian Minister of Social Policy Hind Kabawat told the story of Maryam, a mother from the Dara’a province. After her husband died during the war, Maryam was left alone with two small children and was forced to leave her home. Her marriage was conducted according to local customs and was not officially registered, and the husband’s death was never documented.
“According to our outdated laws, she cannot pass Syrian citizenship to her children, so in the eyes of the state they have become invisible,” said the minister.
Finding themselves in a hopeless situation, some families register their children under the names of their relatives, including the mother’s brothers, so that the children can access school education or medical care. According to Kabavat, such families deserve support rather than punishment. She called for the establishment of a transitional grace period that would allow parents to correct the records in official documents without the risk of punishment.
The proposed reform, which is now in the final stage of approval, will allow mothers to pass citizenship to their children under certain conditions.
Kabavat emphasized that children of ISIS (Daesh) militants in Syria cannot be held responsible for the decisions of their fathers. She also once again called on the countries of origin to take some responsibility for the welfare of such children.
According to her, the new government will strive to ensure that “Maryam from Deraa never again has to wonder whether her children truly belong to the country in which they were born.”
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