The Creation of Stateless Kurds in SyriaThe majority of Kurds are divided between Turkey, Iraq, Iran, the former Soviet Union, and Syria. Some of Syria’s Kurds became stateless when a census was conducted in 1962 in the Hassakeh governorate under Decree No. 93. An estimated 120,000 people or about 20 percent of Syrian Kurds lost their citizenship, a number which has since more than doubled to approximately 300,000 at present. Many persons who lost their nationality also later lost rights to their property, which was seized by the government and used for the re-settlement of displaced Arabs. The Kurds whose land was seized were not compensated for their losses. Moving Arabs onto this land ensured that a strong barrier of Arabs existed along the border of Turkey between the Kurds living in Turkey and in Syria. The census reflected a political agenda to Arabize the northeast, an area rich in natural resources, and to identify recent illegal migrants from Turkey. To retain their citizenship, Kurds had to prove residence in Syria dating from 1945 or before. Implementation of this order went awry. Even Kurds with proof of residence lost their nationality; others were compelled to pay large bribes to retain it. One man stated, “The grave of my grandfather is here in Syria; our family has been here for over 100 years, but we lost ournationality in 1962.” To this day many families have members who are nationals and others who are not. Fathers have nationality, while their children do not; one man has nationality while his brother does not. Many stateless Kurds also report having family members who served in the Syrian military and whose nationality was then rescinded upon completion of their service. The results of the census of 43 years ago continue to cause great suffering. “You can’t imagine the condition of people without a nationality,” one man said. “It violates international laws to which Syria is a signatory and Syrian domestic law itself.” According to documentation prepared by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Article 3 of the Syrian Nationality Act stipulates that a person is considered legally Syrian if he or she is:
The law also states that Syrian nationality shall be given to foreigners by special decree after a written application proving that the applicant:
As it has in the past, once again this summer the Human Rights Committee, the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by its State parties, called on Syria to “protect and promote the rights of non-citizen Kurds.” The European Union has also sent a letter signed by several member states to President Al-Assad urging him to rectify this prolonged situation. |
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Buried Alive: The Creation of Stateless Kurds in Syria
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