CRC Committee asks South Africa and Saudi Arabia to address childhood statelessness
Published: 1/Nov/2016
Source: Institute for Statelessness and Inclusion
Extract from Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion Bulletin on Statelessness, October 2016
At the 73rd session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (September 2016), a strong set of recommendations on protecting children’s right to a nationality were addressed in the Concluding Observations addressed to Saudi Arabia and to South Africa.
For Saudi Arabia, the focus was on amending its nationality law to remove gender discrimination. The Committee took note of the changes which were made to Saudi legislation in 2012 which open a pathway to naturalisation for children of Saudi women, but reiterated its earlier recommendation that the law be further reformed “in order to ensure that nationality can be transmitted to children through both the maternal and paternal line without distinction”.
In respect of South Africa, a broader revision of all legislation and regulations relevant to birth registration and nationality was recommended to ensure the country’s full conformity with the Convention.
Both countries were recommended to pay particular attention to the specific situation where children would otherwise be stateless. Also, both were encouraged to accede to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, and South Africa also to accede to the 1954 statelessness convention.
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