Statelessness Risk of Syrian Refugee Children Born in Turkey
Elveda DANA GALE
Anr: 797665
Tilburg University
LLM International and European Public Law: Human Rights Law
Master Thesis
Supervisor
Dr Nanda OUDEJANS
TILBURG 2016
1
2
Table of Content
1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………… 5
1.1 The Problem of Statelessness…………………………………………………………...5
1.2 The Background of the Syrian Refugee Crisis……………………………………….... 7
1.3 The Story of Dr. Nazir………………………………………………………………....10
1.4 Research question and Sub-questions………………………………………………….11
1.5 Methodology………………………………………………………………………….11
1.6 Outline………………………………………………………………………………….12
2. TURKEY…………………………………………………………………………………..13
2.1 International Legal Framework………………………………………………………...13
2.1.1 The 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol………………………………...14
2.1.2 The 1954 Convention and the 1961 Convention…………………………………..16
2.2 National Legal Framework…………………………………………………………….18
2.2.1 The Legal Position of Syrian Refugees in Turkey…………………………………19
2.2.2 Non-Homogenous Syrian Refugees………………………………………………..21
2.2.2.1 Children who born from Syrian people who also have Turkish nationality…..21
2.2.2.2 Children who born in Turkey and have stateless mother-father………………23
2.2.2.3 Syrian Citizens’ Children who Born in Turkey……………………………….24
2.3 Gaps in the System……………………………………………………………………..25
2.3.1 Birth Registration…………………………………………………………………..26
2.3.1.1 Acquiring a Birth Certificate in Turkey……………………………………….26
2.3.1.2 Obstacles of the Birth Registration……………………………………………28
2.3.1.3 The Reasons to Do Not Make Registration…………………………………...31
2.3.2 Illegal Marriages…………………………………………………………………...33
2.4 Possible Remedies……………………………………………………………………..36
3
2.5 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………..38
3. SYRIA……………………………………………………………………………………..42
3.1 International Legal Framework…………………………………………………………43
3.2 National Legal Framework……………………………………………………………..49
3.3 Gaps in the System and Possible Remedies……………………………………………50
3.4 Conclusion on Chapter on Syria………………………………………………………..53
4. CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………55
5. BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………………57
4
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. The Problem of Statelessness
Awareness of the statelessness problem has increased in recent years. For decades, the problem of statelessness was in the background. Millions of people have been profoundly affected by this problem. The term ‘statelessness’ is defined as “a person who is not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law” by the United Nations
Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Person.1 Being stateless incurs many obstacles to the access of fundamental rights since fundamental rights require nationality. According to
UNHCR data, there are at least 10 million stateless people; yet, this number is not precise due to the difficulties in the determination and sharing of statistics within concerned states.2
Having a nationality is a remarkable matter in international human rights. There are quite a number of international instruments which include articles and underline the importance of the right to have a nationality. For instance, Article 15 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights states that “everyone has the right to a nationality” and that “no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.” The right to a nationality is usually related with the protection of the rights of children and the principle of non-discrimination. For example, Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that every child has the right to acquire a nationality3, while Article 5 of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial
Discrimination4 requires States to “prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, color, or national
1 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons [1954] UNTS 117, art 1 2 The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), ‘Ending Statelessness’
The main causes of statelessness are conflict of laws, state succession, the legacy of colonization, arbitrary deprivation of nationality, administrative barriers and lack of documentation, and the inheritance of statelessness.6 Likewise, war, civil war, and migration are other underlying causes that increase the risk of being stateless. For example, people might have to leave their homes to save their lives without any documentation, they might lose their nationality while living abroad for a long time dependent upon the nationality law of their home state and any children born in these scenarios are also at risk.
Stateless children are the most vulnerable group of people, as they need representation to stand for their rights. They have the right to “acquire nationality” as determined under
Article 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.7 The next article of the same convention gives duty to states to “undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality”.8 Also the Convention on the Reduction of
Statelessness describes its main focus as “the prevention of statelessness at birth by requiring
States to grant citizenship to children born on their territory, or born to their nationals abroad, who would otherwise be stateless”9. Unfortunately; in every ten minutes, a stateless child is born.10 These children face the danger of violations of children’ rights by virtue of being stateless. They would still get access to these rights under the preservation of states; however it is true to say that they are at risk of being denied their rights to education, social welfare,
5 International Justice Resource Center, ‘Citizenship & Nationality’
To stop the growth in the number of stateless people and to propose a remedy to the issue of statelessness, the prevention of children born stateless is crucial. Cutting the problem from the first moment, at birth, would play a huge role in reducing the number of stateless people.
For childhood statelessness, lack of birth registration, lost birth records, discriminatory nationality laws on women are the main causes. Another important matter involves migration from country to another one if nationality is based on jus soli (by soil).12 As will be examined in this work, the Syrian refugee crisis increases the risk of being born stateless abroad. One of the most tremendous global migration issues is currently taking place as a result of the conflict in Syria. Millions of people have had to flee from their homes to neighboring countries. It does not have to end with statelessness; yet, there are still huge risks that must not be underestimated, particularly the risk of children being rendered stateless.
1.2. Background of the Syrian Refugee Crisis
In March 2011, pro-democracy protests broke out in Syria as an unexpected attempt to unseat the Syrian government. These antigovernment protests were the continuation of similar protests in the Middle East and North Africa.13 The Arab Spring that had begun in December
2010 showed its influence on protesters in Syria after starting in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and
Yemen. The Syrian Army responded to these protests.14 Unlike previous leaders from Tunisia
11 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (n3) arts 7, 8, 24, 26 and 28 12 Maureen Lynch and Melanie Teff, ‘Childhood statelessness’ (2009) FMR 32, 31-33
7 and Egypt, the president of Syria responded harshly to anti-governmental protesters, and did not show any toleration for the protesters’ desires.15
In the words of Andrew Tabler who is an expert on Syria; “The Syrian Civil War is arguably the worst humanitarian crisis since the Second World War, with over a quarter million killed, roughly the same number wounded or missing, and half of Syria’s 22 million population displaced from their homes. But more than that, Syria today is the largest battlefield and generator of Sunni-Shia sectarianism the world has ever seen, with deep implications for the future boundaries of the Middle East and the spread of terrorism.” He continues by underlying that the country is divided into three parts as Protection Units (YPG) are the effective power.16 These factions are each supported by different countries.
The number of rebel groups in Syria is hard to determine, but currently there are 13
“major” groups.17 The number of groups who are fighting each other is important to produce an estimate of when will the civil war come to an end. The high number of groups is indicative of the duration of civil wars, in that it makes the civil war’s end date longer.18 In this regard, it is foreseen that the civil war in Syria might last longer than other civil wars, as the number of groups is higher. After the end of World War II, civil wars come to the end around in 10 years, but in this one has more rebel groups than others.19 From the perspective of the refugee crisis, a longer civil war means more refugees and more babies born in exile.
There is no certainty about the date in which conflict will end in Syria, who will govern the
15 BBC News Middle East, ‘Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: Facing down rebellion’ (Middle East, 21 October 2015)
A vast number of people had to flee from their homes. Six million and six hundred thousand million people are displaced within Syria and 4.8 million people have become refugees outside of Syria.21 In the end, more than half of the Syrian population had to flee from their home. And Turkey hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees.22
Source: http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.phpUNOCHA.org/syria, 2016
On 29 April 2011, the first group of 252 Syrian refugees23 entered into Turkey.24
Today, this number is more than two and a half million.25 As of the 29th of February 2016,
20Sarnata Reynolds and Daryl Grisgraber, ‘Birth Registration in Turkey: Protecting the Future for Syrian Children’ (2015)
1.3. The Story of Doctor Nazir
Doctor Nazir was pronounced dead by officials in Syria even he is alive, so he did not legally exist from 2012. When his wife came to Turkey, she was pregnant and had an infant when she came to Turkey. . However, Dr. Nazir had to stay in Syria. She fled from Syria without her documents, because she had to escape from the bombardment of Aleppo. Because of the obituary, Dr. Nazir could not register his marriage (2013) or his first child in Aleppo. Their second child was born in Turkey in 2015. His wife could not have any birth certification because Dr Nazir had to stay in Syria, and she had no proof for their marriage or birth certificate of her husband. As Syrian nationality passes only through a Syrian father, this baby was at risk of being rendered stateless.27Due to the discriminatory citizenship laws of Syria, after the end of war thousands of Syrian babies could become stateless. According to law, they have to prove that they have a Syrian father.28 It is not possible to register or to give birth certification to all babies. In Syria, hospitals are at risk of bombardment, so women prefer to give birth at home. Furthermore, sexual violence, deaths, disappearances are increasing as a reason for many parents to not get official documentation for their offspring. With regard to
25 The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, (n2) ‘Syria Regional Refugee Response’
When we look over the problem from the perspective of statelessness, children are the group most affected by statelessness. In this regard, we should examine the situation in
Turkey, and their way of dealing with the problem. Unfortunately, this risk has a low priority for media and international community. Syrian nationality law will also be assessed as a part of the causes enhancing the risk of statelessness to these children. On the other hand, a huge amount of refugee people dream of passage to Europe to start a new life. A part of them have succeeded in passing borders from Turkey to Greece; however, as a consequence of the agreement between Turkey and Europe, they will now be sent back to Turkey.
1.4 Research Question and Sub-question
In the following work, my research question will be:
Why are Syrian Refugee Children Born in Turkey still at Risk of Being Stateless and how could this be remedied?
And my sub questions are:
-Under the international and national legal framework, what is the situation of Turkey regarding the nationality matter of Syrian babies born in Turkey?
- Under the international and national legal framework, what is the situation of Syria regarding the nationality matter of Syrian babies who born in Turkey?
1.5 Methodology
The purpose of this thesis is to find and prepare an appropriate answer to the question of “why are Syrian refugee children born in Turkey still at risk of being stateless and how could this be remedied?” The risk of being born stateless in Turkey for the children from Syrian refugees is evaluated under the international and national legal framework of both Turkey and Syria.
29 Ibid, (n20) 11
For the purpose of this thesis, an analysis of Turkish and Syrian Citizenship Law will be made. While doing so, attention will be paid whether or not these national laws are meeting the international standards.
1.6 Outline
In the first chapter, after an introduction to the situation in Turkey, attention will be paid to the international level: The 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol. Turkey’ situation and its reservation will be explained together with its effects on the problem. Additionally, the two main international statelessness conventions, The 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and The 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and Turkey’ position with regard to those convention are described.
To be able to explain the situation in Turkey, an interview has been conducted with Dr
Tevfik Odman who is a professor in Cag University in Istanbul. On the basis of his comments, Syrian refugee’s children can been divided in three different groups.
Subsequently, the root causes of the risk of becoming stateless will be assessed under the title
‘gaps in the system’. Here, the problems with the registration system and illegal marriages will be explained. While searching for information on the registration system, I conducted another short interview to be able to hear the situation from the first mouth. And this interview is made with Zeki Öztaş who is the previous director of Mardin Refugee Camp. In the second chapter, Syria’s situation related with the cause of being stateless for those children who born in Turkey from Syrian refugees will be analyzed at the international and national level. More specifically, the discriminatory laws towards women in Syrian
Constitution and its contribution to the child statelessness problem will be underlined.
Through the writing process of this thesis, broad literature review has been conducted and related reports and national legislation have been consulted.
12
2. TURKEY
Turkey is one of the neighboring countries of Syria. Even if they have had political issues, they are historically relatives. That’s why it seems impossible for Turkey to be silent while there is a huge civil war in Syria. From the first moment of the crises, Turkey tried to involve and have effect on parties, and it opened its doors to millions of people who escaped from war. A big part of the Syrian people chose Turkey as a destination for several reasons.
Historical heritage, closeness, hospitality of Turkish people, safety, common religion, culture and food were some of their reasons.30 Beside these, Turkey was seen as a way to go to
Europe to build a new life by refugees. Because of these reasons, recent statistics on Syrian population in Turkey have been changing over the days because of constant new arrivals.
Also newborn babies have a part of this augmentation. Syrians have the opportunity to visit the hospitals in Turkey freely. Authorities are trying to take necessary measurement to record births, however there are some practical issues like birth registration. These issues reveal nationality matter for the newborn babies. Even if they have seen as Syrian citizen in Turkey, they are at risks of becoming stateless. Turkey is party to some of the main statelessness conventions. In this chapter, some background information will be given on Turkey’s situation related to nationality in order to be able to draw a clear map on the risk of being stateless as a newborn child from a Syrian refugee. In this regard, international law and how
Turkey has implemented this in its legislation will be explained. Subsequently, the gaps in the system will be illustrated.
2.1 International Legal Framework
The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, as well as the 1954 and 1961 statelessness conventions are important to introduce the international legal framework related to Turkey’s position with respect to statelessness.
30 Elias Arzak, ‘Why is Turkey taking so many Syrian refugees?’ (Answers, 22 September 2015)
2.1.1 The 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol
The 1951 Refugee Convention is one of the first attempts to protect stateless people. It is necessary to pay attention to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, because they also give the duty to signatory states to protect stateless people. Indeed, the 1951
Refugee Convention is the first attempt to protect stateless people.
“The Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees was approved by the United
Nations General Assembly in 1950. It was signed on 28 July 1951 and enforced on 22 April
1954.”31 According to Article 90 of the Turkish Constitution, the 1951 Convention has the compulsivity of law. Foreigners and International Protection (LoFIP) which is first asylum law in Turkey was accepted by the Parliament in April 2013 and after one year it came into effect. This adaptation was a huge improvement for Turkey for its obligations under the international refugee law.32Turkey was one of the first signatory countries of the 1951
Refugee Convention. From the first moment; it became a party with a geographical limitation by using the option under article 1-B.33
Article 1-B says that: “(1) For the purposes of this Convention, the words “events occurring
CHAPTER I: General Provisions convention and protocol 15 before 1 January 1951” in article 1, section A, shall be understood to mean either: (a) “events occurring in Europe before 1 January 1951”; or (b) “events occurring in Europe or elsewhere before 1 January
1951”, and each Contracting State shall make a declaration at the time of signature, ratification or accession, specifying which of these meanings it applies for the purpose of its obligations under this Convention. (2) Any Contracting State which has adopted alternative
31 Mehmet Atakan Foça, ‘Turkey Sticks to 'Limited' Application of the Geneva Convention’ (Istanbul, 1 August 2011)
32 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), ‘Submission by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees For the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights'’ Compilation Report - Universal Periodic Review (Malaysia, 2013)
(a) may at any time extend its obligations by adopting alternative (b) by means of a notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.”34
The 1967 protocol was also signed by Turkey. Although the option of putting a reservation as geographical limitation was abolished in the 1967 protocol, states who had signed the convention and put a reservation before 1967 had right to keep their limitation.
According to this limitation; if the refugees come from the European countries, Turkey is bound by all aspects of 1951 Convention. If they are coming from other countries, Turkey does not see itself obligated by 1951 Convention.35 Today, Turkey is the only country that keeps a geographical limitation for the non-European refugees.36In this regard, it is true to say that Turkey sees itself totally responsible for the refugees that are coming from the member countries of Council of Europe. For the refugees from other countries, Turkey may offer limited protection like conditional refugee status, humanitarian residence permit or temporary protection. This means that a long-term solution should be found immediately outside of
Turkey, but in the meantime, people would stay in Turkey and cannot be subject to forcible return to their country.37
There are some international comments and recommendations to Turkey to lift its geographical limitations on the 1951 convention. For example; Commissioner for Human
Rights of the Council of Europe, Thomas Hammarberg, visited Turkey in 2009 and in his report he urged the authorities to speedily lift the geographic limitation of the 1951 UN
Refugee Convention, the Commissioner recommends that domestic definitions of asylum seekers and refugees be aligned with international standards.38
34 Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees [1967], art 1 (b) 35 Ibid, (n33) 36 Ibid, (n31)
37 Refugee Solidarity Network, ‘Refugees & Asylum in Turkey’
We can augment these examples but there is no sign from Turkish authorities that they intend to abrogate this limitation. Turkey’ geographical position seems the main reason to insist of keeping this limitation because it is located very close to countries which give high amount of refugees.
Also, economic reasons have an effect on Turkey’ decision not to lift the geographical limitation.
As will be explained below, because of this geographical limitation, today, Syrian refugees cannot get refugee status and they cannot get the benefit from refugee rights in
Turkey. Most impressively, according to Turkish Nationality Law’ 11th Article, a foreigner who wants to apply for citizenship need to stay in Turkey for five years without interruption.39
Because of the reason that they cannot have refugee status in Turkey, Syrian refugees cannot account the time that they have spent in Turkey to apply nationality. This situation closes the door of Turkish nationality for their children who are born in Turkey and the risk of being stateless for those babies rises here again.
In conclusion, it is important to remove the geographical limitation on the 1951
Convention for Turkey to provide a long-term solution for Syrian refugees and their babies who are at risk of being stateless.
2.1.2 The 1954 Convention and the 1961 Convention
The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness are the main statelessness conventions.
“The 1954 convention relating to the status of stateless persons is one of the main international conventions that address the statelessness problem and it is designed to ensure that stateless people enjoy a minimum set of human rights.”40It gives us the legal definition of
39 Turkish Citizenship Law [2009] 5901, art 11 (1)(b) 40 The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (n2), ‘UN Conventions on Statelessness’
Another important statelessness convention is the 1961 Convention. Its main target is to prevent statelessness and to decrease the number of stateless people over time. According to its requirement, states need to make legislation to prevent statelessness from the first moment of life; at birth.
One of the main explicit of 1961 convention is in its introductory notes. It requires and builds a safeguard for children to be sure that they will have nationality at birth by saying:
“States to grant citizenship to children born on their territory, or born to their nationals abroad, who would otherwise be stateless. To prevent statelessness in such cases, States may either grant nationality to children automatically at birth or subsequently upon application.”
Also, renunciation of nationality and state succession are mentioned in the Convention to prevent statelessness.43
Turkey did not ratify the convention for now. However, a new nationality law is accepted in Turkey at 12.06.2009 and after that the process to ratify 1961 convention has started. 44
Thus far, an attempt to explain the position of Turkey towards the main international convention related with statelessness has been made. Its membership to the 1951 Convention
41 Ruma Mandal and Amanda Gray, ‘Out of the Shadows: The Treatment of Statelessness under International Law’ (2014)
17 with the geographical limitation is critical. This limitation is the main reason to not give refugee status to Syrian refugees. Additionally, Turkey ratified the 1954 Convention and it is on the way ratifying 1961 Convention. Whether or not Turkey’s nationality law is a cause of childhood statelessness for Syrian babies will be explained in the section on the national legal framework.
In the next part, the national legal framework of Turkey and childhood statelessness matter will be examined. While doing this, as they are not called as “refugees”, the legal position of Syrian people in Turkey should be explained. And, because of the mixed structure of Syrian people in Turkey, we need to divide them in groups to be able to discuss if there is a risk of being stateless for the babies who are born in Turkey from Syrians.
2.2 The Turkish National Legal Framework
Birth is the first and most significant way to acquire a nationality. People mostly get nationality by birth. Jus soli (right of soil) and jus sanguinis (right of blood) are two different styles of acquisition of citizenship by birth.45
There are two types of getting citizenship under Turkish legislation; by birth or after birth. To acquire citizenship by birth in Turkey, the main principle is descent. Babies cannot get nationality just via right of soil, and right of blood is applied in general. 46
However, there are two exceptional situations to get citizenship by jus soli. When an abandoned infant found in the territory of Turkey, the baby gets citizenship automatically.
The other exception is the risk of being born stateless. 47
45 Jon Feere, ‘Birthright Citizenship in the United States A Global Comparison’ (2010), 5
In conformity with the principle of avoiding statelessness, Turkish Citizenship Law promotes gaining citizenship by jus soli in article 8. According to Article 8, if a child who cannot get any nationality from his/her mother born in Turkey, this child can get Turkish citizenship. 48
Article 8 – (1) A child born in Turkey, but acquiring no citizenship of any state by birth through his/her alien mother or father is a Turkish citizen from the moment of birth. (2) A child found in Turkey is deemed born in Turkey unless otherwise proven.49
This situation might be occur when foundlings are found or when a child is born from a stateless father and mother in Turkey.50
It appears that even if Turkey has not ratified the 1961 Convention, this regulation in
Turkish Citizenship Law is in accordance with 1961 Convention.
2.2.1 The Legal Position of Syrian Refugees in Turkey
It is important to explain the legal position of Syrian refugees in Turkey because it will show why they are in a vulnerable position. And this position increases the risk of being stateless for their newborn babies.
People who come to Turkey from Syria because of the conflict, whether they are stateless or not, and whether they are coming in a massive group or in a small group, are suitable for temporary protection in Turkey.51 In October 2011, the Turkish government stated that Syrians would be beneficiaries of the Temporary Protection Regime as they are coming in a large number. In order to avoid controversy and misunderstandings, the government of
Turkey uses the term ‘guests’ to describe beneficiaries of temporary protection.
On this point, a question is rising, whether the legal position of Syrian refugees in Turkey exposes them to the risk of giving birth to stateless children. During the 1990s, conflicts in the
48 Ibid, (n46) 49 Ibid, (n39), art 8 (1,2) 50 Ibid, (n46) 51 Ibid, (n33), p. 104-133 19 former Yugoslavia, in Kosovo and elsewhere demonstrated the need for special procedures to deal with mass influxes of displaced persons. The 2001 Directive on temporary protection52 was the EU’s concrete response to this need.53
The obligations of states for the mass influx situation are outlined by the European
Union Directive of 2001. It is a common application for the countries when they face a huge humanitarian crisis that causes mass influx. In this regard, it is true to say that having a temporary protection regime on mass influx is not surprising. Actually, there is no such a comprehensive asylum system in any country to be able to process this kind of high number of people. Because of these reasons, the declaration of temporary protection of Turkey was mostly compatible with international standards. It has three important aspects: “unobstructed admission of Syrian refugees to Turkish territory, no forced returns and the provision of basic needs including shelter, food and medical support”.54
Turkey’s Law on Foreigners and International Protection (LFIP) was approved in
2013and “temporary protection “regime in case of “mass influx” regulated under the article
91.55 Temporary protection is defined as a protection status that eligible for foreign people who were had to leave their country and cannot go back to. They might arrive in Turkey individually or within a group during in the time of mass influx period. And mass influx is defined as a gigantic number of people that comes in a short period of time from the same region. According to this protection regime, all people that come from Syria accepted to
Turkey under the temporary protection regime and they are not going to be a subject of
52Council Directive [2001] 55 EC 53 European Commission, ‘Temporary protection’ (2015)
2.2.2 Three Parts of Non-Homogenous Syrian Refugees 57
The refugees that come from Syria to Turkey are not one homogenous group of people. A part of them have only Syrian nationality, some of them have Syrian and Turkish nationality because of mixed marriages. Also, there are stateless people that come from Syria in this massive group, for instance stateless Palestinians.
In order to identify the groups that are at risk of statelessness at birth we first have to distinguish between the following three groups.
2.2.2.1 Children Who from Syrian People Who Also Have Turkish Nationality
The people who are coming from Syria to Turkey are not just Syrian nationals. As these two countries have had a close relationship and heritage from history, there are some people who have also Turkish nationality besides Syrian nationality via adoption or mixed marriages.
Turkish citizenship law, 29.05.2015, accepts to have double nationality with article 44.58
Multiple Citizenship Article 44 – (1) As regards the persons who acquired citizenship of a foreign state for any reason whatsoever, a remark explaining that they hold multiple citizenship shall be put down in their records in the civil registration office, provided they submit documents approving their status and it is ascertained after the examination that the documents and records prove that they belong to the same person.59
In this regard a Syrian citizen could gain also Turkish nationality according to the article, 12, 16 (The Acquisition of Turkish Citizenship by Marriage), 17(The Acquisition of
Turkish Citizenship by Adoption). These people can also apply for Turkish citizenship according to article 10 of the same law which is The Acquisition of Turkish Citizenship by
56 The UN Refugee Agency, ‘Legal Framework for Syrian refugees in Turkey’ (2014)
Decision of the Competent Authority when they complete the conditions that are listed on the article 11. With regard to other conditions, Article 11/1-b is important as it says that a person who wants to apply for Turkish citizenship should have been resident in Turkey without interruption for five years preceding the date of his/her application”.60 This five years condition would be changed to 3 years when people apply for the citizenship by marriage as indicated article 16 paragraph 1. 61
Also, Article 7 of the Turkish Citizenship Law says a child would get Turkish citizenship by descent.
Article 7:
(1) A child born to a Turkish mother or through a Turkish father within the unity of marriage either in Turkey or abroad is a Turkish citizen.
(2) A child born to a Turkish mother and through an alien father out of wedlock is a Turkish citizen.
(3) A child born through a Turkish father and to an alien mother out of wedlock acquires
Turkish citizenship if the principles and procedures ensuring the establishment of descent are met.62
Last but not least, Article 66 gives a guarantee that a child who had a bond with a
Turkish mother or Turkish father is a Turk.
ARTICLE 66- Everyone bound to the Turkish State through the bond of citizenship is a Turk.
The child of a Turkish father or a Turkish mother is a Turk. (Sentence repealed on October 3,
2001; Act No. 4709) Citizenship can be acquired under the conditions stipulated by law, and shall be forfeited only in cases determined by law. No Turk shall be deprived of citizenship, unless he/she commits an act incompatible with loyalty to the motherland. Recourse to the
60 Turkish Citizenship Law (n39), art 11 (1)(b) 61 Turkish Citizenship Law (n39), art 16 62 Turkish Citizenship Law (n39), art 7 (1) (2) (3) 22 courts in appeal against the decisions and proceedings related to the deprivation of citizenship shall not be denied.63
After having Turkish nationality, there is no statelessness risk for children who are born from these people. It is enough to have one parent who has Turkish nationality to get citizenship from Turkey as a newborn baby.
2.2.2.2 Children Born In Turkey and Have Stateless Mother and/or Father
Stateless people are the second part of the group of people comes from Syria. And their child’ nationality matter is critical, especially if they are born in the country that gives nationality just by decent. There are two common principles to give nationality in international law. The first one is jus sanguinis. It means right of blood and it is a principle of nationality law by which citizenship is not determined by place of birth but by having one or both parents have state citizenship or national identities of ethnic, cultural, or other origins.64 Second one is jus soli meaning ‘right of the soil’,65 is the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship.66
Turkey applies the principle of jus sanguinis to its citizenship law as defined in the article 66 of the constitution of Republic of Turkey. But, jus soli is also applicable in Turkey for rare situations. As it is explained in article 8 of Turkish Citizenship Law, there are two exceptional situations to apply jus soli to give Turkish citizenship to a baby:
Article 8 – (1) A child born in Turkey, but acquiring no citizenship of any state by birth through his/her alien mother or father is a Turkish citizen from the moment of birth. (2) A child found in Turkey is deemed born in Turkey unless otherwise proven.
63Turkish Citizenship Law (n39), art 66 64Dora Kostakopoulou, The Future Governance of Citizenship (2008) 26-27 65 Merriam-Webster, ‘Definition of “jus soli”’
23
In this regard, it is true to say that there is no risk to be stateless for the baby who is born in Turkey and has stateless parents that come from Syria. Because of the reason that these babies cannot get any nationality from any other country, they become Turkish citizen from the moment that they come into the world.
2.2.2.3 Syrian Citizens’ Children who Born in Turkey
The biggest part of the massive refugee group has Syrian citizenship. The legal position of
Syrian refugees in Turkey is “guest” and they are under the temporary protection regime regulated by Article 91 of the new Law on Foreigners and International Protection.
Article 91: Temporary protection may be provided for foreigners who have been forced to leave their country, cannot return to the country that they have left, and have arrived at or crossed the borders of Turkey in a mass influx situation seeking immediate and temporary protection.67
Even with the latest regulation, it is not possible to give Turkish nationality to those children. And it is one of the discussion topics among Turkish people whether those babies would get a Turkish citizenship. Under the temporary protection regulations, Syrian refugees are given an id card and recorded. As they are officially Syrian citizen, their newborn babies are becoming also Syrian citizen according to Turkish authorities.
It is worth to indicate that in 2013, Suleyman Celebi who is a deputy in Grand
National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) raised a parliamentary question to ask the number of
Syrian people who got Turkish citizenship. And Muammer Guler as a Member of Parliament from the Justice and Development Party gave answer as: “According to Turkish Citizenship
Law Article 8; A child born in Turkey, but acquiring no citizenship of any state by birth through his/her alien mother or father is a Turkish citizen from the moment of birth. And
67 National Legislative Bodies / National Authorities, ‘Turkey: Law No. 6458 on 2013 of Foreigners and International Protection’ (2013)
It is clearly seen that; in theory, there is no risk of becoming stateless for any of these three groups. And Turkish Citizenship Law is regulated with respect to the principle of preventing statelessness. That is why, as an answer of the nationality matter of these children is they get citizenship of Turkey or Syria. However, does it work in that way and are there any obstacles in proving and obtaining Turkish or Syrian nationality for children from Syrian refugees born in exile?
2.3 Gaps in the System
Through these explanations, it seems there is no cause for statelessness on the part of Turkey.
Even if the authorities ignore or put it on the back page of the to do list; there is a huge risk of being stateless for these children, because even Turkish authorities claim that these children have Syrian nationality because of their parents, there are so many unanswered questions for now.
According to Birth Registration in Turkey: Protecting the Future for Syrian Children that is published in 2015: “Children in Turkey could grow up with a theoretical claim to citizenship in Syria, be treated as foreigners, but ultimately be found to be stateless and eligible for Turkish citizenship at a much later date.”69 As will be explained below there are important obstacles to acquire nationality at birth. The two most important ones are gaps in the registration system and illegal marriages. There are problems and gaps in the registration system. Another unclear situation is the increasing number of girls who get married with a
68 Yeşim Mutlu, Emrah Kırımsoy, Bulanık Mekanlarda Gölgede Kalanlar: Suriyeli Mülteci Çocuklar ve Vatansızlık Riski’ (2016) ISBN: 978-9944-0486-6-8
69 Ibid, (n20) 25
Turkish man by a religious marriage ceremony that is not legal without official marriage.
What will happen to the children who are born from these couples?
2.3.1 Birth Registration
At this point it is necessary to explain the importance of registration. Birth registration is the authoritative record that shows babies’ existence at the legal level. This civil registration should be compulsory, global, and perpetual. It should keep and transmit all the personal data of a person from birth to death.70 As UNCHR argues: “Birth registration establishes the child’s identity and is generally a prerequisite for the issuing of a birth certificate. A fully registered birth and the accompanying birth certificate help a child secure the right to his or her origins, to a nationality and also help to safeguard other human rights.”71
2.3.1.1 Acquiring A Birth Certificate In Turkey
The Syrian refugee problem is the biggest refugee crises after World War Two and Turkey is the country that has the highest number of refugees from Syria. Like other countries, Turkey was not ready with its facilities and systems to handle all the problems related with a massive refugee group. Birth registration is one of the problems in Turkey in the case of registration of newborn Syrian babies for several reasons. Lots of Syrian refugees are not even aware of the fact that they should register their babies. Problems with the registration system as well as reasons for people not to register their newborns will be explained below.
Central and provincial offices of the Population and Citizenship Affairs Department within the Ministry of Internal Affairs are responsible to record and update the births. 72 In the
70 UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, ‘Innocenti Digest 9 – Birth Registration: Right from the Start’ (2002) ISSN: 1028-3528
26 camps, Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey (AFAD) makes the registration. For instance, at average, 2.5 babies are born in the Kilis Öncüpınar
Accommodation Facility every day. These registrations do not guarantee that these children are not at risk of becoming statelessness. They need to be attached to birth registration in
Syria when the war comes to the end.73
The UNCHR in Turkey published a pamphlet named “Birth Registration in Turkey” to explain Syrians the way of requesting a Turkish birth certificate for their newborn babies.
According to the information that is given in this pamphlet, parents of the baby have to bring any identification document and birth report to the local “Population Department”. This department will record information concerning the baby. If only the mother goes to the population department without the father and / or marriage certificate, the father will not be listed on the birth certificate. This is tricky and critical to have a link to Syrian nationality in the future as Syrian babies could get nationality only through the father. To be able to do this for free, parents should apply for the birth certificate in 30 days; otherwise they will have to pay a fee.74
ARTICLE 15 of Population Service Law– (1): Every child who is born alive shall be notified to civil registration offices within thirty days as of the date of birth in Turkey and to
Turkish foreign missions within sixty days as of the date of birth abroad.75
In order to be able to benefit from the temporary protection regime it is important to register the newborn babies with the Turkish authorities. In order to get recognized as citizen by the Syrian government, babies will have to prove that they have a Syrian father. To request the birth certificate from the Syrian consulate is the only way to be able to get a
73 Osman Bahadır Dinçer, Vittoria Federici, Elizabeth Ferris, Sema Karaca, Kemal Kirişci , and Elif Özmenek Çarmıklı, ‘Turkey And Syrian Refugees: The Limits of Hospitality’ (2013)
27
Syrian birth certificate in Turkey. However, people fear to be identified and recognized as an adversary. Expectedly, this includes fighters of armed groups and the Free Syrian Army.
However, it also includes other groups like doctors or politicians. This situation causes an expansion of the black market in fake documents, like birth certificates or passports. 76
To conclude, it is crucial to make sure that there is an effective system of registration for newborn babies. They need it to take place under the umbrella of Temporary Protection
Regime and to claim Syrian citizenship as they assumed now. However, there are also some technical problems with the system as such and some of its reasons will be illustrated in the next section.
2.3.1.2 Obstacles of the Birth Registration
One of the nonnegotiable rights of child is to have an identity and becoming a part of society at birth, so lack of birth registration is a violation of this right. According to Article 7 of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, to be registered at birth by the state of birth place is a right of the baby. That gives a duty to states. They have to make sure that birth registration is available and convenient to all children that include refugees, immigrants, asylum seekers, documented or otherwise.77 Turkey has a working registration system; however there are some problems with it.
First of all, the following and controlling problem is rising. The most important reason for this problem is that most refugees are living outside the refugee camps. There are more than 20 refugee camps in Turkey that are run by the Turkish government, and just about 15 percent of Syrians live in them.78 Proximately five years in this crisis, Turkey government was making an effort to regulate its registration system to be able to regularize the increasing number of urban Syrians that are not residing in government refugee camps. Even if there are some improvements on the system for today, there is still a big group that is not registered
76 Ibid, (n20) 77 Ibid, (n70) 78 Ibid, (n54) 28 formally.79 According to Ahmet Davutoğlu, less than 8,500 babies were born in refugee camps, as of January 2014.80 During its field mission to Turkey in March 2015, Relief
International (RI) was told that while certain data are hard to find out, likely more than 60,000
Syrian babies have been born in Turkey since the beginning of the civil war. In any way, most of the births are taking place in the hospitals or infirmary. For these births a birth report would be given, however these are not legal documents that record a birth.81 Additionally, missing documents is a cause for registration problem. A 2013 report from the Disaster and
Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) in Turkey determined that, less than five percent of those living in camps had crossed with a passport. And, less than 30 percent of
Syrians that live outside of the camp come with their passports.82.
The next significant problem related with the registration of Syrian births in Turkey is about the future status of these children at the end of conflict. AFFAD’s 2013 report shows
Syrian people are planning to go back to Syrian after conflict end with 55.9 percent inside of the camp and 63.4 percent outside of the camp.83 For this reason, to be able to obtain Syrian nationality, it is vital to indicate the father’s information like name and location of birth on documents, because nationality can be only passed by the father. Unfortunately, due to the war circumstances lots of births are happening without presence of the father. Fathers are generally missing, killed or still fighting in the civil war in Syria. 84 The Father’s absence will not prevent the baby to gain TPS, even if the mother has no proof of marriage or birth certificate of father, the baby will be registered and gain temporary protection. In this
79 Ibid 80 Ahmet Davutoğlu, ‘Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Geneva II Conference, Montreux, 22 January 2014’ (2014)
First of all, they are coming from a long way under the risk of being killed by attacks. Lots of vital documents, namely diplomas, degrees, proof of marriages, birth certificates, identity cards, might be gone, left behind, destroyed during bombardment or might be even stolen.
The second reason is that Syrians might have had just areligious marriage in Syria or in
Turkey that is not official, so these marriages are not recorded by the officials. 85
A birth report is not a legal document, it is just a managerial document that includes baby’s name and gender, location and date of birth, and the parent’ name if they both are available. A Relief International worker (RI) was told that, just mother’ words about father’ name might be enough for the birth report, but it is not necessary to register the baby for TPS.
When a mother goes to the foreigner’ police to register her baby, they will request other supporting documents with the birth report, if she has them. If not, the registration procedure will occur again only based on statement of mother or father.86 A worker87 in the camp also indicated that the mother’s words are the source for registration when they do not have any document or marriage certificate. This would create a problem in the future, because these statements are questionable as they are not based on any official document. The third cause of registration problems are the different alphabets that are being used in Turkey and in Syria.
Turkish officers are recording names of Syrian babies with the Latin letters and sometimes wrong information about birth location or date of birth. Turkish translation of Arab names and wrong data on the document might lead to confusion concerning Syrian children, specifically when they want to prove their Syrian citizenship with the records in a different alphabet.88
85 Ibid, (n20) 86 Ibid, (n20) 87Zeki Öztaş who is the previous director of Mardin Refugee Camp. 88 Ibid, (n20)
30
Lastly, the Turkish government, UN agencies, and international non-governmental organizations seem confused about making registration for Syrian children. It is necessary to create uniform information and technics.
As a consequence it is a problem for the authorities to follow their registration.
Additionally, it is not certain that whether or not Syrian authorities will recognize the registration of births in those camps, especially if the current regime stays. Unfortunately, these children will not have any citizenship when Syrian authorities do not accept registration that is made by Turkish authorities. Moreover, the lack of official documentation from Syria related to personal status makes it impossible to register civil marriages in Turkey.89 The lack of a permanent system for registration and the lack of information among personnel are other causes increasing the problematic situation of the registration system. All of these reasons constitute a risk of being stateless for babies born in Turkey from Syrian refugees. There have to be reliable documents to claim and prove Syrian nationality for these babies. The problems should be solved as soon as possible by taking control over this huge group and informing staff about the importance of information on these documents.
2.3.1.3 The Reasons for Not to Make Registering
After the explanation of birth registration and the way of receiving a birth certificate, it is important to look at reasons for the Syrian parents not to register their babies. There are political, cultural, economic reasons and they will be explained below.
First of all, the lack of awareness of the necessity of a birth certificate, and of the fact that is might result in statelessness risk is one of the biggest reasons. Unfortunately, but naturally peoples’ priorities are being alive, feeding themselves and their families, and finding a shelter. These are their main concerns, and they are not aware of the procedure or possibility that they can register their babies at the local Turkish Population Department. A worker of
89 Kemal Kirisci, ‘Syrian Refugees and Turkey’s Challenges: Going Beyond Hospitality’ (2014)
Relief International was told by refugees that they are confused how and where to register for the birth certificate or TPS. Furthermore, there are also some misunderstandings about procedures. Additionally, some of the agencies might have a lack of information or be confused about the procedure. It is not clear whether they have been trained about the process that was outlined by the UNHCR.90 Some of them understood the procedure implying that they should contact the Syrian consulate in Istanbul, which is something most people are scared of (as explained above).
There are also some people who have been recorded as dead even when they are alive.
It is a related and shocking example explaining how the crisis can affect registration matters.
One Syrian refugee says “I have two babies and I can’t register them with my name because I defected from the Syrian military and have been recorded as dead since 2012.”
There are also some rumors like if they register in Turkey; they are not going to be able to enter European countries that thousands of them want to do. That’s why they do not even register themselves besides their babies.91
Fee is another issue related to this topic. There are some examples that people receive fake documents while paying much money.92Also, according to birth registration rules in
Turkey, people should go to the local Turkish Population Department and register within 30 days after birth. When they want to register their babies after 30 days, they should pay a fee.
And this obligation might block them from registration. 93 However, according to a custom among Syrian people, they generally prefer to wait for two years before registration of newborns because they want to be sure if the baby survives or not.94
To sum up, reasons for the parents not to register m in Turkey might be the following: lack of information about the importance of records, the fear of being reported to the Syrian
90 Ibid, (n20) 91 Ibid 92 Ibid 93 Ibid 94 Ibid, (n20) 32 government, the anxiety of not to be able to pass Europe, intentional incorrect reporting as dead with regard to some people. These comprehensible causes for the families increase the danger of becoming stateless for their babies even if they are not aware of the risk.
2.3.2 Illegal Marriages
Illegal marriages are the second important gap in the system that creates risk of being stateless for the newborns of Syrian parents. If a marriage does not comply with the legal conditions of marriage in a country, this marriage starts as an illegal marriage and it is not recognized by authorities. Polygamy, marriage just with a religious ceremony, and child marriage are three examples of illegal marriages in Turkey. Even though there are laws to abandon these marriages, the number of illegal marriages is increasing. Especially, after the Syrian crises, the number of illegal marriages has increased. This situation has the negative effect on the child in terms of nationality matters, especially if parents do not register their newborns. Even if they have a Turkish father, they would not get Turkish citizenship automatically according to Turkish Citizenship Law.
Abolishing polygamy is one of the main mile stones from the secularist reforms in
Turkey. Polygamy is officially criminalized in 1926 in the Turkish Civil Code.95 Also,
Turkish civil law does not allow for multiple wives and child marriages. 96 According to
Article 23097 of Turkish Penal Code, punishment of the polygamy is up to two years.98 The same article, paragraph 5-6, makes clear that a religious marriage is not legal in Turkey.
95 Wikipedia, ‘Polygamy in Turkey’ (last modified on 13 March 2016, at 19:05)
33
For legal marriages, there is no problem with getting married with a Syrian partner for
Turkish people.. Article 7 of Turkish Citizenship Law paragraph 1 indicates that “A child born to a Turkish mother or through a Turkish father within the unity of marriage either in
Turkey or abroad is a Turkish citizen.” When these marriages are not legal and babies were not born within the unity of marriage, there is the problem and risk of being stateless for these children. Technically, these births accepted that they have happened out of wedlock.99 For paragraph 2 of the same article, it is clear that if the mother of the child is Turkish and father is an alien, the baby is a Turkish citizen even if s/he was not born within the unity of marriage; as seen from this point there is no discriminatory application for women in this law.
Paragraph 3 of Article 7 says that if a child was born from a Turkish father and an alien mother out of wedlock, s/he gets Turkish citizenship “if the principles and procedures ensuring the establishment of descent are met”.
However, many Syrian girls are getting married under the age of 18. In everyday life, this means that they will have a place to stay, have a better life standard for their parents, it means they will be sure for their daughter that she will have basic conditions to survive and there will be one less person to feed and to take care of. Some of these girls, unfortunately, are being forced to get married as a result of sexual abuse.100
Another point is polygamy, which is another illegal type of marriage. A Turkish man might get married with a Syrian girl under or over the age of 18, and then she becomes his second wife. As other illegal marriages, these marriages also are not recorded by
of the date of decision stipulating cancellation of marriage. (5) The couples who marry by arranging religious ceremony without executing official marriage transactions are sentenced to imprisonment from two months to six months. Both the public action and the punishment imposed thereof, is abated with all its consequences when the civil marriage ceremony is accomplished. (6) Any person who conducts a religious marriage ceremony without seeing the certificate of marriage is punished with imprisonment from two months to six months.97 98 Ibid 99 Ibid, (n89) 100 Orsam, Suriyeli Sığınmacıların Türkiye’ye Etkileri (Report no:195, 2015) pages 15, 32, 34
There is another issue that makes the situation more vulnerable for these children.
Presenting the “personal status certificate” is mandatory from Syrian parents whether male or female. The purpose to ask this certificate is to be sure that the person is not married in another country. However, there is only one place for Syrians to get this certificate and that is the Syrian consulate in Istanbul. However, the cost and mainly the fear of being recognized by
Syrian authorities are preventing them from going to the Syrian consulate and getting this certificate.104
As a result, their babies are not recorded as Turkish citizens. Instead of these, they might be registered as refugees benefitting from TPS. Correspondingly, these babies will not able to apply for Syrian citizenship as their fathers are known and their fathers are not Syrian.
In the end, these babies are under extreme risk of becoming stateless if their Turkish bond is not recorded. 105
101Ibid, (n20) 102 Türk Tabipleri Birliği, Suriyeli Sığınmacılar ve Sağlık Hizmetleri Raporu (2014) p.62
Another fear that keeps parents from pursuing registration of their babies is that they will be punished when it will be discovered that they took an illegal marriage. That is why they even might choose not going to the hospital for a birth.106
In a conclusion, women and child are the most injured groups of these events. The frequency of these cases is unknown because Turkey does not register underage or second marriages.107 There are some media reports that show that getting married with Syrians has become a commercial issue.108 As shown in the media, however, Syrian women and girls are at risk of sexual exploitation.109 And these illegal marriages are one of the causes of statelessness for the babies born from these marriages.
2.4 Possible Remedies
Thus far, an attempt to explain gaps in the system has been made. While doing so, especially, registration problem and illegal marriages were underlined to be able to illustrate the risk of being stateless for the newborn babies from Syrian parents. In this part, some possible remedies will be indicated for the major problems.
Necessary measures should be taken in Turkey to solve problems that cause statelessness. More effective burden sharing is one of the first steps that should be taken. If this is a humanitarian crises, and has effect on more than neighbor countries the cost of crises should be shared with. Also, the collaboration between countries will make it easier to deal with problems. Turkey is on the way to sign the 1961 Convention, making this happen as early as possible would make conditions easier in terms of preventing statelessness.
106 Ibid 107 Ibid 108 Mehveş Evin, ‘Suriyelilerle evlilik ticarete dönüştü’ Milliyet gazetesi (Turkey, 26 January 2014)
36
Additionally, even if they have reasonable grounds, the limitation of Turkey on the 1951 convention should be renounced to come to the solution point easily.
Next of all, it is appropriate to mention remedies for the registration problem. With regard to difficulties of the situation in Turkey, there are some measurements to be taken immediately. Firstly, it should be ensured to have an effective birth registration and certification system for Syrian babies. And these registrations should follow the same system, and it should meet with the international standards. Also having a clear system will be helpful and make it easy to register by refugees. Secondly, the staffs that deal with the refugees like the foreigners police, Directorate General for Migration Management, and Population
Department should have training about the importance of registration. They should learn the long-term effect of mistakes in children life, including the risk of statelessness. And language barriers should be solved to prevent future problems. Next, in the situation of father absence, instead of basic information like his name and birthday the information should be detailed as much as possible like his parents name and his current location. And all of this information would be shared with legal aid organizations to make their job easier. 110 As it is indicated above, after 30 days of birth, families should pay fee to make registration for their babies. If this becomes free, one of the obstacles would be erased. And the fake organizations that make money from uninformed Syrian refugees with fake registration and passports should be prevented effectively.
Another group of remedies would be written related with the necessary measurements to prevent illegal marriages. The punishment should be more persuader in Turkey for the people who help these marriages. When a priest makes religious nuptials without seeing official wedding document, he should definitely know that he will go to jail for a long time.
Also, families who allow or push getting married their girls under the age of 18 should be
110 Ibid (n20) 37 punished. And parents should reach the information and facilities easily to make registration for their babies. Additionally, if people do not fair of being report to go to Syrian consulate, the number of illegal marriages would be reduced. And if the staff is well informed, when they see the couple of one Turkish man and one Syrian women who try to get temporary protection regime for a newborn, they would recognize the risk of being stateless for this baby and report it to authorities.
In conclusion, there is a long to do list to be able to solve the crises. This is not impossible to do when all the countries, NGOs and other national and international aid organizations work in cooperation intimately. On the international level and national level, necessary steps should be taken to be able to stop the risk of being stateless for babies of refugees in Turkey.
2.5 Conclusion
After Syria, Turkey is the most affected country of Syrian crises. Millions of people have been displaced, and a huge part of them chose Turkey as a destination because of the similarities between cultures. Due to new arrivals and new births in Turkey, the number of refugees has been increasing day by day. Newborn babies’ nationality matter has been ignored by officials as the prior necessities are bread, bad, bath. The situation of Turkey in terms of the statelessness risk for the babies of refugees is evaluated in this chapter.
First of all, Turkey’ position among the main related convention, namely 1951 Refugee
Convention and 1967 Protocol, 1954 Convention Status of Stateless Persons and 1961
Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, is explained.
Turkey is one of the first signatory countries of 1951 Refugee Convention. However, it has a huge reservation on it called geographical limitation. According to this limitation,
Turkey does not accept people who had to flee their homeland as a refugee, if they are coming from out of the Europe. Even if this right to put reservation under the Article1-B is revoked
38 with the 1967 Protocol, Turkey insists on keeping this geographical limitation. Its geographical location is the first reason to keep this reservation. Because of this limitation,
Syrian refugees cannot get refugee position in Turkey. Significantly, they cannot apply for the citizenship after 5 years. This 5 years rule is applicable to the foreigners who want to apply for citizenship. This missing opportunity might be one of the shortest ways to solve the citizenship problem and statelessness risk of the Syrian refugees’ newborn babies.
Furthermore, Turkey is a signatory country of 1954 Convention and is not a signatory county of 1961 Convention. Even if it is not a signatory country of 1961 Convention, its citizenship law that is signed in 2009, reached the international level and included necessary measurement to prevent statelessness at birth. It applied the principle of preventing statelessness at birth by saying if a child is stateless at birth in Turkey, this child gets Turkish citizenship and if a foundling found in Turkey, s/he assumed Turkish.
Next, the national legal framework included and legal position of Syrian in Turkey explained. As they cannot get refugee status in Turkey, their status is “guest” under the
Temporary Protection Regime. Under this protection regime they have right to stay in Turkey, they cannot be sent back without their will. However, they cannot apply for citizenship for themselves and for their babies.
After the explanation of Syrian’ status in Turkey, they have been divided in tree parts because of their non-homogenous characteristic. The first group is children who are born from
Syrian refugees who have also Turkish nationality. And, it is found that there is no risk for becoming stateless for these children as Turkey applies descent while giving nationality. The second group is children who are born from stateless families, and it is showed that there is also no risk for these children. They are protected under the article 8 of Turkey Citizenship
Law. Last but not least, children who are born from Syrian nationals in Turkey are assumed as
39
Syrian by Turkish authorities. There are some measures to be able to assure they are not at risk of being stateless, however, there are some practical problems.
After all, the gaps in the system took place in the first chapter, namely registration problems and illegal marriages. Even if there is no legal reason that cause statelessness risk on the part of Turkey’ legal framework, these practical risks become a cause for the statelessness risk.
Birth registration is vital to prove babies existence legally. Its importance and the obstacles in the system are explained. It is hard to have effective control on the birth registrations because the group is massive and most of them do not stay in camps. There is lack of information and language barrier among staff who deal with refugees. As it is a necessary condition to have a Syrian father to get Syrian citizenship. Besides this, it is not certain whether or not Syria will recognize the records that have been made in Turkey.
After then, the reasons that prevent parents from registering their babies interpreted. Lack of information about the system is one of the biggest reasons. For example, some families thought that they need to pay a big amount of money, or they need to go to Istanbul where the
Syrian Consulate is. Even some of the workers are not aware of how crucial their job is.
Tragically, there is a group of people who are declared as dead by the Syrian government, but they are in Turkey. That is why they cannot register their babies under their names.
Additionally, some rumors say that if they make registration in Turkey, they cannot go to
Europe. An interesting Syrian custom also might be listed here, they are waiting for the registration for 2 years to see if baby stay alive or not. These were the findings that keep parent from registering.
Illegal marriages are another root cause that creates statelessness risk for the babies of
Syrian parents. Child marriage, polygamy, religious marriage are unofficial in Turkey, however, it is increasing. Women and teenage girls are under a huge risk of sexual abuse.
40
Children who are born from those marriages keep the danger of becoming stateless. It is also significant that “personal status certificate” is mandatory to make marriage in Turkey with a
Turkish person to be able to assure that this foreign is not married in his/her country. And there is only one place that a Syrian citizen can get it: Syrian Consulate in Istanbul. However, they do not want to be recognized or reported to Syria. That is why; they make illegal marriage and register their child under Temporary Protection Regime. As the father of these children is Turkish and it is known, there is no way to have Syrian citizenship for them.
In conclusion, there is a statelessness risk for the children who born from Syrian refugees in Turkey, because of the gaps in the system even if Turkey meets with the international standards in its national legislation.
41
3. SYRIA
According to an article on Daily Sabah published in June 22, 2015, over 60,000 Syrian babies have been born in Turkey in the past four years who suffered from statelessness. Their future remains uncertain especially without any apparent end insight to the damaging conflict in
Syria coupled by the fact that they remain with the ‘guests’ status in Turkey. Turkey grant
Syrians a temporary status as “guests” and this strip their babies of citizenship rights rendering them stateless. Such is considering that, in a similar manner to their parents, the babies are issued a “guest card” used for registering their status.111 However, birth registration would provide a stronger basis for a state to recognize the existence of a child born within its boundaries, as well as the details of the date and place of birth and the family background of the child. Such constitutes the foundation upon which to claim citizenship.112 However, this proves challenging for Syrian babies born in Turkey. Attempts to register the newborns are made difficult by the fact that it is common for the displaced Syrians to lack passports, IDs and other documents necessary for proving their nationality. Such cases arise as they left their country at a short notice and had no time to carry their possessions. Without the documents, they are bound to face difficulty in the registration of their newborn babies.113
Statelessness is acknowledged to have the capacity of impeding a child’s development and survival, for instance, through obstruction of access that the child has to healthcare.114
Considering this reality and the need to observe primary consideration to what would be in the best interests of the child when making decisions or taking actions, children are not supposed to remain stateless for a long period after birth and should acquire nationality either at birth or within the shortest time possible following birth. There have been a series of international and
111 Daily Sabah (2015, June) ‘Born stateless, Syrian children in Turkey face uncertain future’ [Online].
42 national legal efforts to address the risk of statelessness. It becomes necessary considering the international and national legal framework to establish the situation of Syria in relation to the nationality matter of the Syrian babies born in Turkey.
Taking into account the statelessness risk that the Syrian babies face, it becomes necessary to consider the two main principles that apply: jus soli and jus sanguinis, as they determine the criteria employed to determine citizenship.115,116 In the case of jus soli, that does not apply in the case of Syrian babies as Turkey does not grant them citizenship by virtue of their place of birth. However, the second principle can apply as the citizenship can be granted based on family descent or heritage.117 Notably, the criteria that Syria can use to grant them citizenship falls within Syria’s sovereign authority.
3.1 International Legal Framework
International law advances that the enjoyment of the majority of human rights is not dependent on nationality.118 Such also applies to the enjoyment of children’s rights. However, the situation with Syrian babies born in Turkey severely hinders the exercise of varied human rights. Aware of the significance for everyone to hold a nationality, governments have, since the 1930s, sought to make sure that no person is to remain stateless and have entered into a series of international agreements on the matter.119
International organizations have made various efforts to alleviate the risk of statelessness. Their origin can be traced back to 1921, when the League of Nations came up with the Office of the High Commissioner of Refugees in the period following the high
115 Margaret Walton-Roberts and Rhoda E Howard-Hassmann, The human right to citizenship: a slippery concept (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015) 116 Helen Irving. Citizenship, Alienage, and the Modern Constitutional State (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2016)
117 David S Weissbrodt. The Human Rights of Non-citizens (Oxford; New York, Oxford University Press, 2008)
118 Martin Dixon, Robert McCorquodale and Sarah Williams. Cases and Materials on International Law (Oxford; New York, Oxford University Press, 2011) 119 Alice Edwards and Laura van Waas. Nationality and Statelessness under International Law (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2014), 182 43 number of people rendered stateless by the Russian Revolution that took place in 1917. Later after World War II, the United Nation established the UN Relief and Rehabilitation
Administration for the same role of handling statelessness. Numerous other treaties have been established to address this issue even though they have been unsuccessful as the problem keeps recurring.120
The right of acquiring nationality is established as a universal right of every child and this is included in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and various other human rights instruments.121 According to article 7 of the CRC, any child ought to be registered immediately after birth and have the right to acquire a nationality.122 Further, the article adds that State Parties should facilitate these lines in line with both their national laws and the obligations that they assume under the relevant international instruments especially when the child is at the risk of stateless. Furthermore, article 8 of the CRC also protects the rights that children have in preserving their identity, with nationality included123.
Moreover, Article 29 of the League of Arab States, Revised Arab Charter on Human Rights established in 2004 advances that every individual has the right to a national right and there must be a legally valid reason to deprive a citizen his or her nationality. In the same article, the Charter require state parties to undertake the necessary measures to permit a child to acquire the nationality of his or her mother in relation to the interests of the child.124
With respect to children, Article 7 of the Covenants on the Rights of the Child in Islam provides that the registration of a child should be done immediately after birth. It provides the child with the right to have a name, the right to acquire a nationality, the right to know and right of care from parents. The article then requires the state parties to ensure that the rights
120 William R Slomanson, Fundamental perspectives on International law, 6th (Boston, MA, Wadsworth, 2011) 121 Connie de la Vega. Dictionary of International Human Rights Law (Cheltenham, UK, Edward Elgar, 2013)
122 United Nations Human Rights: Office of the High Commissioner. Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990) 123 European Network on Statelessness, No Child Should be Stateless (Budapest, The European Network on Statelessness, 2015) 124 League of Arab States, Revised Arab Charter on Human Rights (2004), Article 29 44 are consistent with the national law and obligation in line with the relevant international instruments especially where the child is at a risk of statelessness.125
States assume the responsibility of conferring nationality, and each state established the criteria for conferring and withdrawing nationality based on its own domestic laws126.
However, the responsibility sharing is not clear between Turkey and Syria upon children of
Syrian refugees in Turkey. Even though the Universal Declaration of Human Rights advances that every individual has the right to a nationality, it fails to establish the particular nationality to which one is entitled127. Such an absence has been a likely reason behind the reported cases of statelessness. It thus becomes essential for states to come up with additional standards, as was done in the establishing the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness as a recognition of the need of international agreement and cooperation towards reducing statelessness.128
Numerous states turn to the 1961 Convention to guide them on ways of meeting their international obligation on preventing statelessness. Even though only 31 State Parties had signed the 1961 convention on January 1, 2010, the influence that its provision exhibited was more significant as many have borrowed from the elements contained in the Convention in establishing their national legislation.129 The prerogative that states have in determining the rules of acquiring, changing and losing nationality is influenced by international law, especially, human rights law. As a corollary to the right that each individual has, every state has to make efforts to avoid statelessness via administrative, legislative and other measures130.
125 Covenants on the Rights of the Child in Islam, Chapter 7 126 Ezio Biglieri and G. Prati. Enclyclopedia of Public International Law (Amsterdam, North-Holland, 1985) 127 Clíodhna Murphy. Immigration, Integration and the Law: The Intersection of Domestic, EU and International Legal Regimes (London, Routledge, 2016)
128 UNHCR. (2010). Preventing and Reducing Statelessness: The 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Geneva: UNHCR. 129 UNHCR. (2010). Preventing and Reducing Statelessness: The 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Geneva: UNHCR., 1 130 United Nations. Guidance note of the Secretary-General: The United Nations and Statelessness (June 2011), 3 45
Case laws has been established that is likely to guide in explaining the operation of the international legal framework. The Case of the Yean and Bosico Children v. The Dominican
Republic was judged in September 2005.131 The petition of the case that is sent to the Inter-
American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) was alleging that the rights of the nationality and education have violated by the Dominican Republic. Although Yean and
Bosica were born in the jurisdiction of the Dominican Republic, they were denied to acquire nationality because of their Haitian descent. As a result of the absence of their nationality, they were under the risk of expelled from the country and from the school. To stop the expulsion of girls’ and to assure that Bosica could go on to school, the IACHR decided on precautionary measures. And it is found that the Domestican State violated these children’ rights, namely the rights to the nationality, the protection measures, to equality and non- discrimination. Also, the court came to the conclusion that the right to nationality is pre- condition to be able to enjoy other rights. That is why denying the right of the nationality open the door to do not be the part of a political community for children. At the end of the case, the court called the Dominican State to have an exact solution for the thousands of
Haitian descent children living in the territory of Dominican State. 132
A central consideration in the CRC relevant to the case of Syrian children born in
Turkey relates to a situation where the actions of a child’s parents or of the state have affected the child’s nationality. In such a case, international law provides there be appropriate space to factor in the opinion of the child. Consistent with the principle of non-discrimination, regulations seeking to prevent statelessness should not discriminate against the child based on the status of their parents.
131 Case of the Yean and Bosico Children v. The Dominican Republic, Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACrtHR), 8 September 2005,
It is essential to analyze Syrian nationality law against the backdrop of the country’s international obligation in relation to nationality. Notably, Syria has never been a state party to both the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961
Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. At the moment, there are still no indicators of
Syria acceding to the two in the near future.133
While various conventions stipulate equality in the enjoyment of right to nationality,
Syria remained reserved especially on one of them that includes the Convention on the
Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.134 In a similar manner to the other countries in the Middle East region, Syria has expressed its reservations to Article 9 providing for equal nationality right for both men and women, which includes conferring them equal opportunity in transferring nationality to their children.135,136 The negative trend that Syrian nationality law has established has infringed various international obligations.
Such is especially the case considering Syria has ratified instruments such as the ICCPR, the
CRC and the ICERD. The provisions preclude various kinds of discrimination.137 However, its failure to adopt the Statelessness Conventions highlights the country’s limited commitment to fighting childhood statelessness by not covering it in the comprehensive international instruments. Such explains the reasons that Syria is often accused of failing to meet the international commitments by failing to implement Article 7 of the CRC granting the right to nationality for all children while precluding statelessness among children. In relation to regional legal instruments, it is notable that Syria has been among those who have signed up
133 Zahra Albarazi. The Stateless Syrians (Statelessness Programme, Tilburg Law School 2013) 134 Ekaterina Yahyaoui Krivenko. Women, Islam and international law : within the context of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Leiden; Boston, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2009) 135 The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Article 9 136 Zahra Albarazi. The Stateless Syrians (Statelessness Programme, Tilburg Law School 2013) 137 Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion; The Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights (24 March 2016). ‘Syrian Arab Republic.’ [Online]
Consequently, discrimination is likely to be a factor in jeopardizing children even prior the children are born and without taking into account their place of birth.
However, the circumstances that the Syrian babies find themselves in tend to be aggravated further and it is possible for the risk of statelessness to arise in the different conditions that are obstructive to acquire nationality.139 Such is the case considering the difficulties that hinder a child from obtaining nationality if the father is unknown, dead or fighting in the war. Also, if the father is stateless, the child would automatically inherit statelessness. Already, it is because of the discrimination tendencies of the Syrian government that Syrian Kurds have been rendered stateless, which has significantly endangered their generations.140
In conclusion, Syria is not observant to the international legal framework expected to guide childhood statelessness, especially those born outside its borders in the absence of
Syrian father. Thus, it will be necessary for foreign states such as Turkey to provide safeguards when Syrian babies are born in their land, as the babies face a huge risk of becoming stateless. As far as the situation is concerned, changes are inevitable in Syrian nationality law to facilitate childhood protection both for the children born in Syria and those born in foreign countries. Unfortunately for now, the likelihood of realizing the changes soon seems remote considering the prevailing instability in the country.
138 Kristína Melicherová. "Children of Syrian Refugees Exposed to Statelessness." Tilburg University. http://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=139974, 37 139 Charlie Dunmore and Leo R. Dobbs (4 November 2014) Born in exile, Syrian children face threat of statelessness.
3.2 National Legal Framework
The Syrian Nationality Act was established in 1969 through a decree with the enacting regulations later issued in 1976.141 Since then, no changes have been made to the legislation.
Notably, according to Article 43 of the Syrian constitution that was established in 1973,
Syrian legislation regulates Syrian citizenship. Thus, the constitution sets no conditions to be met to acquire or lose nationality. These decisions are based on a different decree. Thus, it is possible for regular legislative procedure to be used in making amendment to the nationality act without having to conduct a constitutional amendment. Such further implies that it is within the power of authorities to establish further decrees for the enjoyment of nationality.142
For Syrians, the main method of acquiring nationality includes the principle of jus sanguinis, in which a child can obtain the Syrian nationality of his or her father if he is a Syrian national regardless of where they are born.143 However, exceptions are sometimes provided and nationality can be offered even with the paternal link absent especially for foundlings in the country’s territory and babies born to Syrian national mother and unknown father.144
Worth noting, Syrian law contains the safeguards that international law prescribes for ensuring prevention of statelessness at birth. In this case, Article 3(d) advances that nationality is to be provided to all those born in the country and are not entitled to acquire a foreign nationality based on the child’s parentage.145 Such would get rid of the likelihood of new cases of statelessness emerging among babies born in country. Nevertheless, noting these accommodating provisions shows the discrepancies that exist between Syrian legislation and implementation. In reality, execution of this provision has been elusive in Syria, especially
141 Gianluca Paolo Parolin. Citizenship in the Arab world : kin, religion and nation-state (Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, 2009) 142 Zahra Albarazi. The Stateless Syrians (Statelessness Programme, Tilburg Law School 2013) 143 Syria Law Journal (23 June 2016) The Right to Syrian Nationality [Online] 15 August 2016.
Of relevance to this study, the Syrian constitution passed in 1973 grants full equality to women with Article 33 advancing for equality in rights and duties, regardless of sex, language, race, religion and creed. Moreover, Article 23 further adds that the state guarantees that women are provided with all opportunities that would enable them to comprehensively be part of the social, cultural, political and economic life. Nevertheless, despite these promises, gender equality continues to be a severe issue on various levels of legislation and the country continues to lag behind in relation to achieving gender equality.
3.3. Gaps in the System and Possible Remedies
Article 3(a) of the Syrian nationality law provides that any baby born inside or outside Syria to a Syrian father is to be considered Syrian.147 Such a provision explicitly discriminates against women in the ability to transfer nationality to their children. It is only in exceptional cases that women can transfer their nationality to their children and that has to be if the child was born inside Syria.148 For Syrian babies born in Turkey, it is critical for the name of their
Syrian father to be recorded for them to acquire a birth certificate especially because the
Syrian law discriminates against women by limiting permission to children born outside Syria to claim Syrian citizenship through their fathers. However, it cannot be denied that there are thousands of Syrian births taking place without the presence of the father figure after having died, missing or in war.149 The lack of official proof of a Syrian father puts the children born in Turkey at an increased risk of statelessness. Such is likely to hamper their access to health care education and social services and could end up being a barrier in their efforts to return
146 Zahra Albarazi. The Stateless Syrians (Statelessness Programme, Tilburg Law School 2013) 147 Legislative Decree 276: Nationality Law, Dated 15/9/1389H. and 24/11/1969 148 Zahra Albarazi. The Stateless Syrians (Statelessness Programme, Tilburg Law School 2013) 149 Sarnata Reynolds and Tori Duoos (15 July 2015). ‘A Generation of Syrians Born in Exile Risk a Future of Statelessness’ [Online] Turkey at a heightened statelessness risk.150 Notably, the stateless risk is compounded by the situation that the refugees find themselves in. In particular, gaps in the existing framework arise as they do not address cases of babies that Syrian mothers have with Turkish fathers. Largely because of their refugee backgrounds, Syrian females are vulnerable to sexual exploitation, underage marriage and polygamous marriages. However, underage and polygamy marriages are illegal in Turkey and are usually not recorded even though their fathers are indeed Turkish. The babies born in such circumstances are likely to be at an increased risk of statelessness considering the birth takes place at the refugee camp as reports of polygamous or underage marriage arrangements could lead to prosecution when discovered at a government office or hospital. In an effort at avoiding this, the refugee parents opt to avoid recording the birth of children born from such marriages.151 A number of potential remedies can be considered to lower the risk of statelessness facing the Syrian children born outside Syrian borders. One of these would be for Syria to cooperate with Turkey in registering the Syrian babies for refugee benefits. Registration of Syrian refugees in Turkey by recording them as guests would be essential to enabling the children gain access to health care and education temporarily.152 Without this effort, it is likely that a gap would arise between the actual and the recorded number of Syrian babies. Even though registering as a refugee would not be as weighty as a birth certificate would be, registering with the Turkish government provides the Syrian newborns with some proof of 150 Ibid. 151 Ibid. 152 Sarnata Reynolds and Tori Duoos (15 July 2015). ‘A Generation of Syrians Born in Exile Risk a Future of Statelessness’ [Online] UNHCR has been launching initiatives to meet refugee families, to sensitize the local authorities where they are located and to clarify the registration procedures ongoing within the Syrian refugee population.154 Another potential remedy would be to have the Syrian babies in Turkey offered with international birth certificate. Upon application, the Syrian parents ought to submit a birth report to the local relevant authorities and the child can be issued an international birth certificate. Notably, no fee ought to be required in this registration as it would keep away the Syrian parents from documenting the birth and in the process increase the risk of statelessness that is more pressing even than the administrative burden involved in processing an international birth certificate.155 With difficulties being on efforts to sensitize the Syrian refugees to apply for the international birth certificate for their babies, it would be in the interest of Syria and the relevant international bodies to train the refugees on the significance of birth registration and certification. In instances where the father cannot be traced and in collecting information regarding the date and location of the newborns’ birth, it would be crucial for the involved officer to gather the maximum information available for inclusion in the international birth certificate. Moreover, Syria ought to provide Syrians with awareness for them to apply for Syrian birth certificate via the Syrian consulate in Turkey. However, the approach of relying on the Syrian consulate ought not to be the only strategy used as many Syrian refugees would 153 Ibid. 154 UNHCR. Child Protection: Syria Crisis Regional Interagency Workshop Report (2015) 155 Sarnata Reynolds and Tori Duoos (15 July 2015). ‘A Generation of Syrians Born in Exile Risk a Future of Statelessness’ [Online] 3.4 Conclusion Courtesy of the ongoing fighting in Syria, Syrian children born in Turkey remain at a heightened risk of statelessness, a condition that makes it difficult for them to access health care, education as well as social services. The paper observes that statelessness ought to be avoided and it is through international cooperation that everyone can enjoy the right of nationality. However, it has been increasingly becoming evident the deterioration of the fighting in Syria brings about increased risk of statelessness among Syrian children born in Turkey. In particular, the problem of statelessness is compounded by the inconsistencies in the Syrian legal framework and the country’s failure to adhere to the international legal framework design to tackle statelessness. With the Syrian refugees living in Turkey having their status in the foreign country recognized, Syria would encourage Turkey to issue territory travel documents to the Syrian babies born in Turkey as they are, in reality, not permanent residents in Turkey, as it is because of the conflict that they cannot their nationality documents from Syria. An example of a country that permits this includes the Philippines that issues a ‘travel document’ in place of a passport to anyone considered stateless but has been a permanent resident. With no end in in sight for the conflict, Syria would consider Turkey to observe Syrian sovereignty as well as children’s right. Moreover, the ”guest” position of the Syrian parents is the reason placing their children at a risk of statelessness as the Syria’s nationality laws may conflict with Turkey’s. The babies are not born to stateless migrants in the destination country and since they cannot have access to Turkey’s citizenship as it does not offer jus soli citizenship or its nationality 156 Ibid. 53 law has exceptions in the manner it treats refugee babies, which hinder their immigration status from qualifying for nationality jus soli. Syria has to acknowledge that that the safeguards that are against statelessness of the children born in turkey’s territory means would be dependent on the residence status of their parents. Such leaves the babies born by Syrian refugees wholly reliant upon jus sanguinis laws for the acquisition of nationality of their parents. Such would only be problematic if the parents have renounced their nationality, which is rarely the case, as the parents became refugees as they escaped violence in Syria.157 157 Alice Edwards and Laura van Waas. Nationality and Statelessness under International Law (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2014) 54 4. Conclusion The number of stateless people is increasing in the world even if there are more attempt to prevent statelessness when we compare today with previous years. And children are at the most vulnerable position in the stateless group, because they always need someone to stand for their rights. One of the most effective reasons that cause the statelessness is humanitarian crises and civil war. Unfortunately, we have the biggest and longest civil war in Syria after World War II. Millions of people had to flee from their houses to neighbor countries, and high number of them chose Turkey to go. In the group of displaced people that settled in Turkey, the population is increasing with newborn babies. And these babies face to face with the problem of becoming stateless. Lots of international legal instruments have recognized each individual’s right to a nationality, with many generally and explicitly prohibiting denial of nationality. Some of the instruments include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Other efforts aimed at regulating the issue of nationality include the Convention on the status of Stateless persons, the Convention on the Reduction of statelessness and the convention on the status of refugees. İn particular, article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights advances that no one ought to be deprived their nationality prohibition158. 158 United Nations Human Rights. Right to a Nationality and Statelessness. [Online] With regard to these international documents, this thesis is an attempt to explain the reasons and causes that creates risk of being stateless for the babies who are born in Turkey from Syrian refugees. They are still under a huge risk because even if Turkey meets with international standards in its legislations to prevent childhood statelessness, there are some practical issues like registration problems and illegal marriages. Beside this, it is not true to say a hundred percent of these children will become stateless. Children who are born from stateless families or have one Syrian parents who has also Turkish nationality do not carry statelessness risk as they are protected under Turkish Citizenship Law and gain Turkish citizenship directly. However, children who are born from other Syrian refugees have a problem with nationality. The main cause for this situation from the Syrian part is their discriminatory law towards women. A woman cannot pass her Syrian citizenship without father present. There are some situations that they can, but just inside the Syrian border. Unfortunately, a big part of the refugee women does not have their husband with them because of the war. There are also some remedies to solve these problems and prevent statelessness risk for these children with the cooperation of states, legal national or international aid organizations and NGOs. The certainty of nationality matter of these children will appear after the end of civil war in Syria. 56 Bibliography 1. Primary Sources a. Statutes and statutory instruments Turkish Citizenship Law [2009] 5901, arts 7 (1) (2) (3), 11 (1)(b), 16, 44, 66 Turkish Criminal Code, (2004) Law Nr. 5237 (Passed On 26.09.2004, Official Gazette No. 25611 dated 12.10.2004), art 230 b. Legislation and cases Case of the Yean and Bosico Children v. The Dominican Republic, Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACrtHR), 8 September 2005, Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees [1967], art 1 (b) Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons [1954] UNTS 117, art 1 Covenants on the Rights of the Child in Islam, [2004], art 7 Council Directive [2001] 55 EC United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child [1989] UNGA Res 44/25 (CRC), arts 7, 8, 24, 26, 28 2. Secondary Sources a. Books Alice Edwards and Carla Ferstman. Human security and non-citizens: law, policy and international affairs (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2010) Alice Edwards and Laura van Waas. Nationality and Statelessness under International Law (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2014) Andrew Vincent, Nationalism and Particularity (first published 2002) David E., ‘Veto Players and Civil War Duration’ (2006) ISSN 0092-5853, Pp. 875–892 Dora Kostakopoulou, The Future Governance of Citizenship (2008) 26-27 George D Cameron. International business law: cases and materials (Van Rye Publishing, 2015) Margaret Walton-Roberts and Rhoda E Howard-Hassmann. The human right to citizenship: a slippery concept (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015) 57 Mark P Lagon and Anthony C Arend. Human dignity and the future of global institutions (Washington, DC, Georgetown University Press, 2014) Piet Eeckhout. EU external relations law. 2nd Edition (Oxford; New York, Oxford University Press, 2011) The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, ‘Syrian Civil War’ (2015) William R Slomanson. Fundamental perspectives on International law. 6th Edition (Boston, MA, Wadsworth, 2011) b. Journal articles Andrew J. Tabler, ‘Syria in 60 Seconds’ (2015) Jon Feere, ‘Birthright Citizenship in the United States A Global Comparison’ (2010), 5 Kemal Kirisci, ‘Syrian Refugees and Turkey’s Challenges: Going Beyond Hospitality’ (2014) Maureen Lynch and Melanie Teff, ‘Childhood statelessness’ (2009) FMR 32, 31-33 < http://www.fmreview.org/sites/fmr/files/FMRdownloads/en/FMRpdfs/FMR32/FMR32 .pdf > accessed 3 May 2016 Merve Ay, ‘The Mass Influx of Syrian Refugees to Turkey’ (2014) Emergency and Disaster Reports 2014; 1 (2): 2-53 Nimet Özbek Hadimoğlu / Barış Teksoy, ‘Vatansızlığın Azaltılmasına Dair BM Sözleşmesi (1961) Karşısında Türk Vatandaşlığı Kanunu’ TBB Dergisi [2013] 107 UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, ‘Innocenti Digest 9 – Birth Registration: Right from the Start’ (2002) ISSN: 1028-3528 c. Online journals Selcen Baspınar, ‘Turkey: Acquisition Of Turkish Citizenship’ (2015) 58 d. Command Papers and Law Commission Reports Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness [1961], ‘Text of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness’ Introductory Note [2014] < http://www.unhcr.org/protection/statelessness/3bbb286d8/convention-reduction- statelessness.html > accessed 3 May 2016 European Commission, ‘Temporary protection’ (2015) European Network on Statelessness, No Child Should be Stateless (Budapest, The European Network on Statelessness, 2015) International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination [1965], art 5 Janko Rottmann v Freistaat Bayern, judgment of 2 March 2010. No. C-135/08 (Court of Justice, 2 March 2010) League of Arab States, Revised Arab Charter on Human Rights (2004), art 29 National Legislative Bodies / National Authorities, ‘Turkey: Law No. 6458 on 2013 of Foreigners and International Protection’ (2013) Oktay Durukan, ‘Country Report: Turkey’ (2015) Orsam, Suriyeli Sığınmacıların Türkiye’ye Etkileri (Report no:195, 2015) p. 15, 32, 34 Osman Bahadır Dinçer, Vittoria Federici, Elizabeth Ferris, Sema Karaca, Kemal Kirişci , and Elif Özmenek Çarmıklı, ‘Turkey And Syrian Refugees: The Limits of Hospitality’ (2013) Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Managment Presidency (AFAD), (2013) Syrian Refugees in Turkey, 2013 Field Survey Results Ruma Mandal and Amanda Gray, ‘Out of the Shadows: The Treatment of Statelessness under International Law’ (2014) 59 Sarnata Reynolds and Daryl Grisgraber, ‘Birth Registration in Turkey: Protecting the Future for Syrian Children’ (2015) The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), ‘General Information on the Implementation of the Human Rights Council Resolution A/Hrc/Res/22/7 In Turkey’ (2013) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 15 The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), ‘Ending Statelessness’ The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , ‘Refugees around the World and in Turkey’ The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, ‘Syria Regional Refugee Response’ The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , ‘UN Conventions on Statelessness’ Thomas Hammarberg (Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe), ‘Human rights of asylum seekers and refugees’ CommDH (2009) 31 Türk Tabipleri Birliği, Suriyeli Sığınmacılar ve Sağlık Hizmetleri Raporu (2014) p.62 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), ‘Submission by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees For the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights'’ Compilation Report - Universal Periodic Review (Malaysia, 2013) UNHCR. (2010). Preventing and Reducing Statelessness: The 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Geneva: UNHCR. United Nations. Guidance note of the Secretary-General: The United Nations and Statelessness (June 2011) The UN Refugee Agency, ‘Legal Framework for Syrian refugees in Turkey’ (2014) 60 Yeşim Mutlu, Emrah Kırımsoy, Bulanık Mekanlarda Gölgede Kalanlar: Suriyeli Mülteci Çocuklar ve Vatansızlık Riski’ (2016) ISBN: 978-9944-0486-6-8 e. Websites and blogs Ahmet Davutoğlu, ‘Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Geneva II Conference, Montreux, 22 January 2014’ (2014) Amnesty International, ‘Syria's refugee crisis in numbers’ (2016) Barbara F. Walter, ‘The Four Things We Know About How Civil Wars End (and What This Tells Us About Syria)’ (2013) Brenda Stoter, ‘Syrian women refugees humiliated, exploited in Turkey’ Al-Monitor (Reyhanlı, 12 March 2014) Daily Sabah (2015, June) ‘Born stateless, Syrian children in Turkey face uncertain future’ [Online]. Elias Arzak, ‘Why is Turkey taking so many Syrian refugees?’ (Answers, 22 September 2015) European Network on Statelessness. Litigating Strategically: Stateless children born in the EU. 12 November 2014. International Justice Resource Center, ‘Citizenship & Nationality’ Mehmet Atakan Foça, ‘Turkey Sticks to 'Limited' Application of the Geneva Convention’ (Istanbul, 1 August 2011) Merriam-Webster, ‘Definition of “jus soli” 61 Michael Pizzi, ‘A stateless child is born every 10 minutes, UN refugee agency says’ Aljazeera America (3 November 2015) ) Refugee Rights Turkey, ‘The Temporary Protection Regulation of 22 October 2014’ (2014) Refugee Solidarity Network, ‘Refugees & Asylum in Turkey’ Refugee Solidarity Network, ‘Syrians in Turkey’ Sarnata Reynolds and Tori Duoo, ‘A Generation of Syrians Born in Exile Risk a Future of Statelessness’ (2015) The Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, ‘Causes of Statelessness’ United Nations Human Rights. Right to a Nationality and Statelessness. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, ‘Syrian Arab Republic’ (2016) Wikipedia, ‘Polygamy in Turkey’ (last modified on 13 March 2016, at 19:05) f. Newspaper articles BBC News Middle East, “Syrian army tanks 'moving towards Hama' ” (Middle East,10 May 2011) BBC News Middle East, ‘Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: Facing down rebellion’ (Middle East, 21 October 2015) Hurriyet Daily News ‘More than 150,000 Syrian babies born in Turkey: Deputy PM’ Hurriyet Daily News (Geneva, 29 February 2016) Mehveş Evin, ‘Suriyelilerle evlilik ticarete dönüştü’ Milliyet Gazetesi (Turkey, 26 Junuary 2014) 62 g. Interview Mustafa Tevfik Odman, Cag University, Istanbul, Turkey (2016) Zeki Öztaş, Mardin Refugee Camp, Mardin, Turkey (2016) 63