UKBA OPERATIONAL GUIDANCE NOTE: SYRIA Nov 2011

3.6 Kurds

3.6.1 Applicants may make an asylum and/or human rights claim based on a fear of ill-treatment amounting to persecution at the hands of the State, on the basis of their ethnicity.

3.6.2 Treatment. Kurds make up approximately 9% of the Syrian population, and mostly live in the northeast part of the country, although large Kurdish communities also live in most of the big cities. Syria is a multi-ethnic state where many different ethnic groups and religions co-exist. However, demands for Kurdish minority rights continue to be interpreted
by the government as threats to the unity and security of the state, particularly in relation to Syrian Kurds. There are regular reports of arbitrary arrests of Kurds and deaths of Kurds in military service. The authorities arrested hundreds of Kurdish citizens during 2010, many of whom were prosecuted on charges of seeking to annex part of Syria to another
country.

3.6.3 Kurds in Syria face many restrictions on cultural and linguistic expression. The teaching of Kurdish is prohibited and Kurdish festivals, such as the Nowruz celebrations in March, are regularly disrupted by the security services. The law requires that owners and senior editors of print publications are Arab citizens. Approximately 120,000 Syrian Kurds lost their citizenship following a population census in 1962. Consequently, those individuals and their descendants continue to be severely disadvantaged in terms of social and economic opportunities. Stateless Kurds have only limited access to university education, and their lack of citizenship and identity documents restricts their right to travel to and from Syria. The UNHCR estimated there were approximately 300,000 stateless Kurds in 2009.
Most stateless Kurds do not have the economic means to leave the country. They are also restricted in their movement within the country as they are unable to check in to hotels without permission from the security services.

3.6.4 Following recent legislation, it is prohibited to employ persons without an ID card in the private sector, in addition to the previous ban on employing such persons in the public sector. Kurdish exile groups estimate that as many as 300,000 Syrian Kurds are deprived of citizenship and therefore unable to obtain passports, identity cards, or birth certificates. This prevents them from voting, owning land or obtaining government employment. Kurds suspected of being activists are often dismissed from schools and public-sector jobs. In 2009, the authorities made it more difficult for employers to hire non-citizens, resulting in the dismissal of many Kurds from their jobs.

3.6.5 Syrian Kurds are divided by the authorities into three main groups: Syrian Kurds, foreign Kurds (Ajanib) and „concealed? Kurds, or Maktoumeen. Syrian Kurds have retained their Syrian nationality. Foreign Kurds were stripped of their nationality (see above) and registered in official archives as foreigners. Concealed Kurds are denationalised Kurds
characterised by the Syrian authorities as „concealed?. They were originally deprived of their citizenship during the census of 1962, and since then they have not been registered in official records at all. There are approximately 80,000 people within this category. The situation of concealed Kurds is complex, as they comprise persons whose fathers may be classified as foreigners, and whose mothers are citizens, or persons whose fathers are aliens and whose mothers are concealed. There are also persons whose parents are both concealed. These are in addition to the approximately 280,000 undocumented Kurds who live in Syria but without citizenship.

3.6.6 The death in suspicious circumstances of Kurdish military conscripts continued throughout 2010. Reportedly there were 11 deaths, of which 6 were allegedly suicides. However, Kurdish leaders estimated that there have been approximately 40 mysterious deaths of Kurdish conscripts in the last three years (prior to April 2011). The UN CAT noted concerns about the treatment of Kurdish political activists, and military courts? convictions on Kurdish detainees on vague charges of “weakening national sentiment” or “spreading false or exaggerated information”. The UN CAT report also stated that abuses were intentionally and frequently inflicted on Kurds in Syria with the consent or acquiescence or
officials and encouraged by the government.

3.6.7 Syrian Kurds have been active in large numbers in the recent protests against the regime. Kurdish activists condemned the continued oppression by the authorities, but had initially maintained a conciliatory approach to the unrest, possibly hoping for further concessions following Decree 49 relating to „foreigners? in north-eastern Syria. However, the Kurdish Yek Party stated that if the oppression continued, Kurds would join the fray, despite any
concessions. Since then, arrests and deaths of Kurds have been recorded, often together with non-Kurdish protestors.

3.6.8 See also: Actors of protection (section 2.3 above)
Internal relocation (section 2.4 above)
Caselaw (section 2.5 above)

3.6.9 Conclusion. Syrians of Kurdish ethnic origin do face societal and legal discrimination and unequal treatment. It is likely to amount to persecution when the individual is treated as stateless and severely disadvantaged in a way which is in fact persecutory on ethnic grounds, or has a profile as an activist, or has publicised his opposition to the authorities,
for example through protests or participation in political parties opposed to the regime. A grant of asylum will be applicable in cases where it can be demonstrated that the level of discrimination amounts to persecution. Case owners should consider the individual details and circumstances on a case by case basis, within the context of the latest  available country information.

3.6.10 Asylum claims from Syrian applicants of Kurdish ethnic origin may be accompanied by a claim to stay in the UK on the grounds of statelessness. A stateless person is someone who is not considered as a national by any country under the operation of its law.

3.6.11 The UK is a signatory to the 1954 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. The 1954 Convention is the primary international instrument that regulates the status of non-refugee stateless persons and ensures that stateless persons enjoy human rights without discrimination. The 1954 Convention does not however require signatories to grant leave to stateless persons. There is no provision in primary legislation, the Immigration Rules or UK Border Agency published policy that requires the UK Border Agency to grant leave to stateless persons on the sole basis that they are stateless.

3.6.12 For applicants within this category who have demonstrated some opposition to the authorities, or who have already come to the adverse attention of the authorities on the basis of opposition to the regime, please refer to 3.7 below.

Full document here:
http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/countryspecificasylumpolicyogns/
http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/4ebbb9a02.pdf