A/HRC/42/51
absence of the father. Despite legal provisions enabling women to confer Syrian nationality
without proving a legal link to the father, including children born out of wedlock, such as in
cases of rape,33 this appeared rarely to be the case, likely owing to social norms and the
stigma attached.
94.
For example, at the beginning of June, at least 800 families, including Syrian women
and children with familial links to foreign ISIL fighters, left Al-Hol camp for Raqqah
Governorate. Interviewees described how attempts to register and confer nationality to their
children born to foreign fighters before government civil registry offices in Hama
Governorate had been largely unsuccessful. Far from being in the best interest of the child,
the effects of such decisions substantially limited children’s access to health and education,
and increased the risks of child exploitation, abuse and trafficking.
95.
Women and girls with physical and intellectual disabilities have also been adversely
affected by the conflict. In Idlib Governorate, women and girls with disabilities – severely
impacted by the lack of economic opportunities – were forced to relocate to Atma cluster
camps, run by the “Salvation Government” affiliated with Levant Liberation Organization
terrorists. One woman with an amputated leg described the dire living conditions she and
her four minor children lived in, without humanitarian assistance and the specialized
services indispensable for her movement.
VI. Recommendations
96.
As the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic continues to evolve, it has resulted in the
active intervention of a number of Member States in support of and in opposition to the
Government through both direct actions on the ground, and through the provision of
logistical, material and financial support to non-State armed groups.
97.
The Commission reiterates the recommendations made in its previous reports, with
particular emphasis on the protection of civilians, including displaced populations,
especially in areas in which there are ongoing hostilities.
98.
The Commission recommends that the Government of the Syrian Arab
Republic:
(a)
Ensure unconditional and sustained access to humanitarian and medical
relief for civilians in need and guarantees for the protection of aid and health workers;
(b)
Assure protection and assistance to displaced and returnee women and
girls, including their access to health and other basic services, as well as key rights,
such as property and documentation, are addressed in an effective and sustainable
manner;
(c)
Allow unconditional access for independent monitors and humanitarian
organizations to all places of detention and release any arbitrarily detained persons,
particularly women and children;
(d)
Take all feasible measures, under Security Council resolution 2474
(2019), to account, search and reveal the fates of those detained and/or disappeared,
and further establish an effective channel of communication with families, in
particular female spouses, to ensure that their legal, economic and psychological needs
are addressed adequately;
(e)
Implement the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women, including general recommendation No. 30 (2013) on
women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations; and recognize its
obligations under Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000) and 2122 (2013),
reaffirming the need to protect women and girls from sexual and gender-based
violence;
33
18
Ibid. art. 3 (b).
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