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Syrian Arab Republic

Citizenship and Country Documents

US Government Reports

Foreign Government Reports

  • Australian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
    • SYR37688 - Nov. 2010
      1. Please provide information on whether someone who claims to have been arrested as an opponent of the ruling regime in Syria would be expected to experience difficulties or delays in obtaining a Syrian passport.
  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • SYR106356.E - Syria: Exit controls and procedures at Damascus International Airport, including whether a foreigner's passport is stamped upon departure; whether airport authorities verify upon departure if a foreigner entered the country legally, including consequences of illegal entry (2017–August 2019) – Sept. 2019
    • SYR105970.E - Syria: Requirements and procedures to obtain, renew, and replace passports and national identity cards, including in Canada and in neighbouring countries; information and details contained in each document, including physical characteristics – Sept. 2017

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Norwegian Refugee Council
    • The 2021 Syrian Civil Status Law: Implications For Syrians Living Abroad - Dec. 2022

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Children

US Government Reports

  • State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Children - 2022
  • Congressional Research Service (CRS)

Intergovernmental Organization Reports

  • European Support Asylum Office
    • EASO Country of Origin Information Report
      • COI QUERY:  Rights of Lebanese (foreign) children with Syrian mother and non-Syrian father – July 2021

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Norwegian Refugee Council
    • “We are just trying to give our children a future”: Self-reliance for Syrian Refugees in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Oct. 2023

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Corruption

US Government Reports

  • State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Corruption - 2022

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Disabilities

US Government Reports

  • State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Disabilities - 2022

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Elections

US Government Reports

  • State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Elections - 2022

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Ethnic Groups / Race

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Minority Rights Group International - State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - 2016

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Ethnic Groups / Race - Alawis/ Alawites

Foreign Government Reports

  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • SYR104429.E - The situation of Shias and Alawites, including treatment by authorities and insurgents; whether insurgents consider Shias and Alawites to be loyal to President al-Assad - June 2013

Intergovernmental Organization Report

  • European Asylum Support Office
    • EASO Country of Origin Report

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • World Directory of Minorities - Alawis

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Ethnic Groups / Race - Christians, Armenians and Assyrians

Non-Government Organization Reports


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Ethnic Groups / Race - Druze

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • World Directory of Minorities - Druze

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Ethnic Groups / Race - Isma'ili Shias

Non-Government Organization Reports


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Ethnic Groups / Race - Palestinians

Foreign Government Reports

  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • SYR104658.E - The legal rights and obligations of a Palestinian who has been issued a Syrian travel document, including whether they must report for military service; whether the rights and obligations apply to Palestinians that have resided outside of the country for the majority of their life and only visited it briefly - November 2013  

Non-Government Organization Reports


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Ethnic Groups / Race - Kurds

Foreign Government Reports

  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • SYR104167.FE - the situation of Kurds, including their treatment by the authorities since the start of the uprising - Aug. 2012

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Human Rights Watch Profiles
    • Under Kurdish Rule - Abuses in PYD-run Enclaves of Syria - June 2014
  • World Directory of Minorities - Kurds

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Sex

US Government Reports

  • State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Women - 2022
  • Congressional Research Service (CRS)
    • Women in the Middle East and North Africa: Issues for Congress – Dec. 2021

Foreign Government Reports

  • Australian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
    • SYR31333 - Feb. 2007
      1. If possible, could you also tell me approximately what proportion of university students in Syria is female?
      2. Do Sunnis form the majority of the university student population?

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Human Rights Watch Profiles
    • Trapped - How Male Guardianship Policies Restrict Women’s Travel and Mobility in the Middle East and North Africa - July 2023
  • Norwegian Refugee Council
    • Facing an impossible choice: Refugee women's housing, land and property rights in Syria - Aug. 2024

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Human Rights

US Government Reports

Foreign Government Organization Reports

  • Australian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
    • SYR37688 - Nov. 2010
      1. Please provide information on the interrogation methods used by security police and agencies in Syria. Do they use “rubber tyre torture”?

Intergovernmental Organization Reports

  • European Support Asylum Office
    • EASO Country of Origin Information Repot
      • Major human rights, security, and socio-economic developments - Dec. 2023
      • Syria: Security situation - July 2021
      • Syria - Socio-economic situation: Damascus city – April 2021
  • European Union Agency for Asylum

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Amnesty International Global Report:  Death Sentences and Executions – 2020
  • Amnesty International
    • Syria: ‘Nowhere Is Safe for Us’: Unlawful Attacks and Mass Displacement in North-West Syria – May 2020
    • Human Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Review of 2019
    • “War of Annihilation” Devastating Toll on Civilians, Raqqa-Syria – June 2018
    • "Civilian Objects Were Not Damaged": Russia's Statements on its Attacks in Syria Unmasked - Dec. 2015
    • All-out Repression - Purging Dissent In Aleppo, Syria - Aug. 2012
  • Freedom House
  • Human Rights Watch - 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 20192018201720162015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011
  • Human Rights Watch Profiles
    • Trapped - How Male Guardianship Policies Restrict Women’s Travel and Mobility in the Middle East and North Africa - July 2023
    • Kidnapped by ISIS:  Failure to Uncover the Fate of Syria’s Missing – Feb. 2020
    • No Room To Breath - State Repression of Human Rights Activism in Syria - Oct. 2007
    • Attacks on Ghouta:  Analysis of Alleged Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria – Sept. 2013
    • You Can Still See Their Blood: Executions, Indiscriminate Shootings, and Hostage Taking by Opposition Forces in Latakia Countryside - Oct. 2013
    • Razed to the Ground:  Syria’s Unlawful Neighborhood Demolitions in 2012-2013 – Jan. 2014
    • “I Have No Idea Why They Sent Us Back” Jordanian Deportation and Expulsions of Syrian Refugees – Oct. 2017
    • Rigging the System - Government Policies Co-Opt Aid and Reconstruction Funding in Syria – June 2019

Norwegian Refugee Council

  • The state of shelter in conflict-affected countries - Dec. 2024
  • "We want to know more" A cross-border perspective - housing, land and property in Syria, lessons learned and moving forward - Nov. 2024

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Justice System

US Government Reports

  • State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Justice - 2022

Foreign Government Reports

  • Australian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
    • SYR37688 - Nov. 2010 
      1. Is there any information on whether Mr Abdul Halim Khaddam was declared a traitor, and that he wanted to cooperate with the Americans?
      2. Please provide information on whether someone who claims to have been arrested as an opponent of the ruling regime in Syria would be expected to experience difficulties or delays in obtaining a Syrian passport.

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Amnesty International
    • Deadly Detention - Deaths In custody amid popular protest In Syria - Aug. 2011
    • Your Son Is Not Here - Disappearances From Syria’s Saydnaya Military Prison - July 2010
  • Human Rights Watch
    • Far From Justice:  Syria’s Supreme State Security Court – Sept. 2009
  • International Crisis Group
    • Flight of Icarus? The PYD’s Precarious Rise in Syria - May 2014
    • Blurring the Borders: Syrian Spillover Risks for Turkey -Apr. 2013
    • Syria’s Phase of Radicalisation -Apr. 2012

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Law

Not Available


 

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Maps


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Medical Availability

Not Available


 

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Political Figures and Parties

US Government Reports

Foreign Government Reports

  • Australian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
    • SYR37688 - Nov. 2010
      1. Please provide some background information on the demographics, economics and politics of Syria.
      2. Please provide information on “Palestine Camp” in Damascus. Please provide information on “Rukneddin” in Damascus
      3. Please provide information on Mr Abdul Halim Khaddam. Please provide information on Mr Khaddam’s politics, his portfolio and any controversies he may have been associated with.
      4. Did Mr Abdul Halim Khaddam quit the Baath party or was he dismissed? What were the circumstances of his defection/dismissal and were there controversies associated with that?
      5. Was Mr Abdul Halim Khaddam dismissed from the Party because he was the only Sunni Muslim?
      6. Is there any information on whether Mr Abdul Halim Khaddam was declared a traitor, and that he wanted to cooperate with the Americans?
      7. Please provide information on the “Political Intelligence” or other security or intelligence agencies in Syria, including their political activities and whether they extend to harassment, detention, and torture of suspected political opponents.
      8. Please provide information on measures taken by the Syrian government to prevent political opponents or people it suspects support the opposition from leaving Syria.

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Refugees/IDPs

US Government Reports

  • State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Refugees/IDPs - 2022

International Government Organization Reports

  • UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) - International Protection Considerations with regard to people fleeing the Syrian Arab Republic, Update III - October 2014

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Amnesty International
    • Refugee and Asylum Seekers - 2014
    • You’re Going To Your Death” Violations Against Syrian Refugees Returning To Syria - Sept. 2021
  • Human Rights Watch
    • “I Can’t Go Home, Stay Here, or Leave” Pushbacks and Pullbacks of Syrian Refugees from Cyprus and Lebanon - September 2024 
  • Norwegian Refugee Council
    • Facing an impossible choice: Refugee women's housing, land and property rights in Syria - Aug. 2024
    • “We are just trying to give our children a future”: Self-reliance for Syrian Refugees in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Oct. 2023
    • The 2021 Syrian Civil Status Law: Implications For Syrians Living Abroad - Dec. 2022

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Religion

US Government Reports

Foreign Government Reports

  • Australian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
    • SYR37688 - Nov. 2010 
      1. Please provide information on the present status and circumstances of Sunni Muslims in Syria.
    • SYR36307 - March 2010 
      1. Please provide information on the number, status, activities and profile of Catholics in Syria
      2. Please provide information on the attitude of the authorities towards Catholics in Syria. Is there any evidence to suggest that Catholics are being mistreated, prevented from practising their religion or denied access to services, in particular those engaged in proselytisation?
      3. Please provide information on the attitude of Islamists and/or Islamic groups towards Christians and Catholics, in particular those engaged in proselytisation.
    • SYR31060 - Jan. 2007
      1. Basic beliefs of Sunni Moslems (in Syria, if they differ in some basic way from beliefs of other Sunnis) – a brief summary.
      2. Are converts to Christianity able to go to church freely in Syria? Are they subjected to any serious discrimination or harm? 

Intergovernmental Organization Reports

  • European Asylum Support Office – Apostasy/Blasphemy - Dec. 2021

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Sexual Orientation

US Government Reports

  • State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Sexual Orientation - 2022

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Human Rights Watch Profile
    • “They Treated Us in Monstrous Ways” Sexual Violence Against Men, Boys, and Transgender Women in the Syrian Conflict – July 2020

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Specific Country Issues - Armed Conflict

US Government Reports

  • United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
    • USCIRF Releases New Report on Religious Freedom Under Syrian Rebel Group HTS - Nov. 2022
  • Congressional Research Services
    • Armed Conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S. Response - Nov. 2022

Foreign Government Reports

  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • SYR105972.E - Syria: Information on the opposition forces involved in abductions and extortions and their areas of operation in the country; frequency of abductions and extortions of civilians committed by rebel groups; whether rebel groups target particular social groups, including Christians – Sept. 2017

Intergovernmental Organization Reports

  • European Asylum Support Office (EASO)
    • EASO COI Query
  • European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA)

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Amnesty International
    • "I Won't Forget This Carnage" Civilians Trapped In Battle for Raqqa - Aug. 2017
  • Human Rights Watch Profiles
    • Beyond Burning - The Ripple Effects of Incendiary Weapons and Increasing Calls for International Action - November 2024
    • All Feasible Precautions? Civilian Casualties in Anti-ISIS Coalition Airstrikes in Syria - Sept. 2017
  • International Crisis Group
    • Containing Transnational Jihadists in Syria’s North West - Mar. 2023
    • After Ten Years of War, Conflict Still Paralyses Syria – Mar. 2021
  • Norwegian Refugee Council
    • Cross border: Access coordination in north-west Syria - Nov. 2023

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Specific Country Issues - Freedom of Movement

Foreign Government Reports

  • Australian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
    • SYR37688 - Nov. 2010 
      1. Please provide information on whether opponents of the governing regime in Syria would be likely to be permitted entry to Jordan and general information on the procedure for the entry of Syrian nationals to Jordan.

 


 

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Specific Country Issues - Military Service

Foreign Government Reports

  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • SYR105971.E - Syria: Changes to legal exemptions from compulsory military service, including implementation – Sept. 2017

Intergovernmental Organization Reports

  • European Asylum Support Office
    • EASO Country of Origin Report

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Specific Country Issues - Treatment of Returnees

Foreign Government Reports

  • Australian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • SYR42016.E - Syria: Update to SYR20080.E of 4 April 1995 on the Syrian government's attitude towards, and its treatment of, citizens who have made refugee or asylum claims, particularly when the claim was made in Canada or the United States – Sept. 2003

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Human Rights Watch
    • “Our Lives Are Like Death” Syrian Refugee Returns from Lebanon and Jordan Human Rights Watch - Oct. 2021
  • International Crisis Group

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Specific Country Issues - Muslim Brotherhood

Foreign Government Reports

  • Australian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
    • SYR33192 - April 2008 
      1. The current estimated number of members, activities, influence, areas of operation and geographical concentration of Muslim Brotherhood in Syria.
      2. The treatment of members or suspected members in the 1990’s and beyond, including the seriousness with which the authorities view any association with the organization.
      3. Any demonstration or civil unrest in Hasaka in the last 10 years and the government’s response.

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Speech / Press / Internet

US Government Reports

  • State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Internet/Press - 2022

Foreign Government Reports

  • Australian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
    • SYR37688 - Nov. 2010 
      1. Please provide information on the level of political freedom and freedom of speech in Syria.

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Freedom House
    • Freedom on the Net - 2020

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Timeline

Media


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Trafficking

US Government Reports


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Terrorism

US Government Reports


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Torture

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Human Rights Watch Profiles 
    • If the Dead Could Speak: Mass Deaths and Torture in Syria's Detention Facilities - Dec. 2015
    • Torture Archipelago - Arbitrary Arrests, Torture, and Enforced Disappearances in Syria’s Underground Prisons since March 2011 - July 2012

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Updated February 3, 2025