Citizenship Policies in Syria Roots of Deprivation and Their Devastating Impact on Northeastern Syria, Particularly on Women

Citizenship is a fundamental right that links an individual to the state and grants legal, social, and economic protection. Although the international framework provides clear tools to prevent and reduce statelessness—such as the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, and the obligations set forth in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which guarantees equality in conferring nationality to children—national laws in Syria remain far from these standards. This has contributed to the worsening of statelessness, particularly in northeastern Syria and in Afrin in the northwest.

Historically, citizenship in Syria has been used as an instrument for defining political and ethnic belonging rather than as a means of ensuring legal equality. Legislative Decree No. 276 of 1969 kept women in a subordinate position by denying them the right to transmit citizenship to their children. Furthermore, policies of citizenship deprivation—most notably the exceptional 1962 al-Hasakah census—were used to exclude entire segments of the Kurdish population from the framework of citizenship and its associated rights.

Today, more than a decade into the armed conflict, and as discussions about Syria’s future and state reconstruction intensify, reforming nationality policies emerges as a cornerstone for reestablishing a social contract grounded in equality between citizens. It is also a key component of transitional justice and gender justice processes.

The current political shifts and the demands of the reconstruction phase require a comprehensive approach to addressing the historical legacy of marginalization and legal discrimination. Reforming the nationality law is an essential step in this direction—not only to ensure legal and social justice, but also to reintegrate women as full citizens capable of participating in public life and contributing to the building of a society and state founded on equal opportunities and gender equality in accordance with international standards.

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