Respecting the law of the land

According to recent findings by the Ministry of Interior and the Syrian Refugee Administration, undocumented marriages among Syrian refugees, especially among underage persons, reached crisis proportion.

Some 10,000 children are born to these marriages annually, and they go unregistered.

The problem is twofold. One is that many underage children enter into a marriage in open violation of Jordanian law, which prescribes the minimum age for marriage at 18. 

The other is that so many marriages, even among adults, go unregistered with the Ministry of Interior. Such marriages remain suspect.

The huge number of Syrians in refugee camps on Jordanian soil is subject to the laws and regulations of the country. Refugees have no excuse for bypassing Jordanian regulations — on marriage and everything else. As long as these marriages are contrary to the letter and spirit of relevant legislation, they are not recognised.

The difficult economic conditions under which the refugees live are no excuse to break the law.

These marriages leave many children in a state of legal limbo as far as their nationality and parental linkage are concerned.

The government needs to start a legal procedure to regularise such marriages through special legislation, while also leading a serious campaign in refugee camps to familiarise residents there with the laws of the country.

It should not be too hard to keep tab on all acts, including unlawful marriages, conducted on Jordanian soil in refugee camps and, as such, illegal activities could be stopped.

No one should be above Jordanian law as long as they live in Jordan.