When the Islamic State (IS) was finally driven from Iraq in July 2017, it left material ruin in its wake. It also left behind a legacy of abandoned children and orphans, many afflicted with psychological and social scars and many with no registration papers or trace of their parentage.

Under Iraqi law, for these children to become registered and granted Iraqi nationality there must be an official marriage certificate to prove they were born under a legal union. This has led the Iraqi Foreign Ministry to call on the international community to adopt children who are known to be non-Iraqi. But what about those offspring whose lineage remains unknown, including those who lost their parents in the war?

Kazem al-Haj, a political and social researcher at al-Hadaf Network for Political and Media Analysis, argued that it's critical to address the situation of children with unknown parentage to avoid the social problems caused by a generation brought up in extreme conditions. He told Al-Monitor, “Children with unknown parentage are distributed in large percentages in the areas that were under the control of the Islamic State."

The Iraqi Constitution defines Iraqi nationality. Haj said three provisions apply to children with unknown parentage, relating to their Sharia, legal and social status. He noted, “The Sharia prohibited insulting and hurting children with unknown parentage, allowed their adoption and gave them the right to inherit.”