Children of Syrian mothers are left without legal status, the UN commission of inquiry on Syria says

4 November 2026

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria told a high-level panel in Geneva that many Syrian children are growing up with no legal identity. Under Syria's 1969 nationality law, nationality passes only through the father, so a child whose father is absent is left without legal status. The Commission says the law discriminates against women and does not square with what Syria has undertaken under CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Commissioner Monia Ammar noted that an estimated 12 of every 13 people killed in the war were men, which leaves many mothers unable to register their children. Syria's Minister of Social Affairs and Labour, Hind Kabawat, said a reform letting mothers pass on nationality is nearing approval and asked for a legal grace period for families who registered children under relatives' names. The Commission wants every child registered regardless of the circumstances of birth, alternative documents accepted, and nationality granted to the children of Syrian mothers.