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Syrian refugees and migrants in Lebanon, whose number is believed to have exceeded two million, compared to the Lebanese population of six million, are a hot subject of local debates. However, what is even more concerning, is the fast-growing number of unregistered Syrian births.
Thirteen years have passed since the war in Syria, and yet, this issue that has drowned Lebanon unequivocally has been long overdue. We are past the fact that Lebanon is not a refugee country. Past that Lebanon has been plagued by multiple severe crises. And yet it seems, that a radical and permanent solution to this alarming issue proves sterile, both internally and internationally.
However, Lebanon developed a mechanism that facilitates the administrative procedures for Syrian refugees to register their newborns. The challenge remains in the high number of these births, whether of registered refugees or Syrian migrants who have entered Lebanon illegally. The fact remains that any newborn who is not registered as Syrian is considered “stateless” after a certain period, and the risk of integration or naturalization of these unregistered births proves critical to Lebanon.
UNHCR on “Integration or Naturalization”
“Nearly 60% of Syrian children born in Lebanon still need to complete their birth registration process,” said UNHCR Spokesperson in Lebanon Lisa Bou Khaled to This is Beirut. She highlighted that “children born to Syrian parents in Lebanon are registered as Syrian, not Lebanese, and UNHCR is not advocating for the integration or naturalization of refugees in Lebanon.”
Bou Khaled explained some of the complications that refugees face in registration, the main barrier to completing the process remains associated with cost. She pointed out that the other difficulties reside in meeting birth registration requirements due to the loss of documents and the inability to replace them. To address this “the UN, in partnership with the Government of Lebanon, facilitates the registration of births”, she said.
The UNHCR Spokesperson in Lebanon stated that birth registration rates and residency rates have seen some “improvement year on year thanks to the efforts of response partners providing legal services and outreach.” Birth registrations for children born in Lebanon increased to 41% at the end of 2023, up from 36% in 2022, at the Foreigner’s Registry level. Similarly, overall birth registration at the Noufous level rose to 56%, compared to 53% in 2022, she added.
Plan to Register Births of Syrian Refugees
For her part, the head of the Lebanese crisis response plan (LCRP) Ola Boutros told This is Beirut that the Ministry’s Social Affairs LCRP team has been actively working to add the births of Syrian refugees to the records of families registered with the UNHCR. She explained that incomplete files are referred to legal partners to finalize birth registration documents in the civil registration office and the foreigners’ registry at the General Directorate of Personal Status.
“This process ensures that Syrian identities are preserved, helping to prevent statelessness and protecting Lebanon from the risks associated with permanent settlement,” she said.
In 2015, the registration of new Syrian refugees in the UNHCR records was suspended by a decision from the Lebanese government. However, the Ministry of Social Affairs’ database has included 250,000 Syrian newborns from 2015 to date, Boutros said.
In collaboration with partners such as the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities and UNHCR, the Ministry of Social Affairs launched the “National Plan for Registering Births of Syrian Refugees and Palestinian Refugees from Syria.” This comprehensive plan includes awareness campaigns, legal consultations, referrals, and follow-ups in informal camps, Boutros said. Additionally, a program is being implemented to reach births of both registered and unregistered refugees with UNHCR, in cooperation with local officials (mukhtars) and other related activities.
Registration Procedures
1. Obtain the Lebanese birth notification from an authorized doctor or midwife.
2. Get the birth certificate endorsed by a Mukhtar located in the region where the birth occurred.
3. Register the birth certificate at the Noufous (District level “Caza”).
4. Register the birth certificate at the Foreign Registry of the Personal Status Department (Governorate level).
5. Register/stamp the birth certificate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
6. Register/stamp the birth certificate at the Syrian Embassy in Lebanon.
The issue of unregistered births of Syrian refugees raises serious concerns as it is inherently linked to Lebanon’s demography and any potential demographic change to its identity, amidst the increasing migration of Syrians in recent years. Add to it that Lebanese births have declined over the years to 66,866 in 2023, according to Policy and Research Specialist at Information International, Mohammad Chamseddine.
