The Lebanese government is facilitating the registration of new births for Syrian refugees, thanks to new rules that are less complex. This makes it easier for refugees to access basic services such as education and healthcare.
The lack of formal documents for refugee babies born in Lebanon can cause significant problems, hindering the possibility of enrolling in school and the access to vaccinations and other forms of healthcare. It can even prevent refugee families from being able travel.
In Lebanon, a newborn child must be registered within one year of birth. Failure to meet the deadline used to mean the only recourse is a costly and complex court process, something many impoverished refugee families are unable to take on.
But earlier this year, the Lebanese government waived the one-year timeframe for Syrian children born in Lebanon between January 2011 and February 2018, allowing their parents to register their birth without going to court.
The story of Firaz and his daughter Yara
The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR has praised the Beirut's measures.
In a statement, it told the story of Syrian refugee Firaz and his daughter Yara. Firaz has worked in construction all his life, but dreams of better opportunities for his three young children. "I don't want them to end up with limited options like me. With an education, I hope they can work in medicine or engineering back home, rather than jobs that just put food on the table," he told UNHCR.
Until recently, however, this ambition seemed to be out of reach for his four-year-old daughter, Yara. Her birth was never registered with the authorities in Lebanon, where they have lived since fleeing Idlib, Syria, in 2012.
With new registration certificates for his children, Firaz is relieved that his dream of a better life for his children is now possible.
Documents for building a life in Syria
The reform will enable more than 50,000 unregistered Syrian children to acquire the necessary paperwork, in a country where a 2017 UN survey found that only 17 percent of Syrian refugees under the age of five had their births registered. "Legal documents are very important for refugees. They help improve their living and financial situations," said Mohammad Jarjowi, legal officer at the International Rescue Committee. With some Syrian families in Lebanon now considering returning to their country, having birth certificates for their children becomes even more crucial in order to cross the border and access public services as they seek to rebuild their lives in Syria.