Syria – Action Group
Palestinian refugees have appealed to Syrian authorities to establish a clear legal mechanism for registering their children born in countries of asylum, who lack identification documents due to displacement, which hinders their documentation in official records both inside and outside Syria.
Many Palestinian refugees whose children were born in Turkey, Lebanon, and other countries face significant difficulties in issuing birth certificates or registering them with civil registry offices due to the lack of residency or official documents. This deprives children of legal rights and basic services.
In the testimony of a father from Yarmouk Camp who previously lived in Turkey, he said:
“I gave birth to my child in Istanbul, and after 20 days, he traveled with us to the Netherlands, without me being able to register him with the Turkish civil registry. Now, after returning to Syria, they asked me to register him and pay for a visa, but there are no documents proving his birth here or there. My child holds a Dutch passport, but he has no Turkish birth certificate or official registration, and I cannot take any paperwork out of Turkey. This is a suffering that we and others are experiencing.
” The refugees pointed out that this problem is recurring among many families who are unable to document their children’s births due to travel circumstances or lack of legal residency. They emphasized that the absence of legal solutions deprives children of basic rights such as education, healthcare, and citizenship.
They called on the relevant authorities, including Syrian authorities, relevant embassies, and human rights organizations, to work to find a legal and humane solution that allows children to be officially documented and preserves their future rights.
