Good Practices Paper – Action 3: Removing Gender Discrimination from Nationality Laws

Published: 6/Mar/2015
Source: UNHCR

Action 3 of the Global Action Plan calls on States to remove gender discrimination from nationality laws. The attainment of gender equality in nationality laws worldwide would constitute a major step forward in preventing statelessness. International human rights law provides for equal treatment of women and men. Article 9(2) of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) contains an explicit obligation whereby States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children. Nonetheless, at present 27 countries – in almost all parts of the world – have laws that discriminate against women in their ability to confer nationality on their children.

However, legal reforms in a number of countries in Asia, the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region, Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe have succeeded in introducing equality between women and men in their ability to confer nationality on their children. This Good Practices Paper explains how such reforms were achieved in Algeria, Morocco and Senegal. It also describes the Arab Women’s Right to Nationality Campaign, an exemplary advocacy effort in the MENA region that paved the way for pioneering reforms in a number of countries and continues to push for more progress.

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Themes: International standards, Discrimination, Gender
Regions: International, Algeria, Morocco, Senegal
Year: 2015