At independence, most countries in Africa discriminated on the basis of gender in the rules on transmission of citizenship to children and spouses. In recent years, however, nationality laws have increasingly been reformed to reduce or remove gender discrimination.
A substantial majority of African countries now give men and women equal rights to transmit nationality to their children; and roughly half provide equal rights to transmit nationality to a spouse.
These reforms are in line with the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which prohibits discrimination in nationality law on the basis of gender: all African countries except Sudan and Somalia are parties to this treaty.
Promulgué par le Président de la République Hery Rajaonarimampianina le 25 janvier 2017, le nouveau code de nationalité a été appliqué et a déjà bénéficié à des milliers de famille malgache. «Il est reconnu malagasy l’enfant né d’un père et/ou…
Morocco is working on new legislation enabling Moroccan women to pass nationality to their foreign spouses, said family minister Bassima Hakkaoui. “Borders should never deprive people from enjoying nationality rights,” Hakkaoui said in a recent statement to the press on…
Nationality laws which do not grant women equality with men in conferring nationality to their children are a cause of statelessness and a concern for UNHCR under its mandate to prevent and reduce statelessness. Since 2012, UNHCR has issued an…
By Catherine Harrington, Campaign Manager, Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights Amid the tragedy and uncertainty of today’s global challenges, there have been several important developments in the fight for gender equality in the past year. Importantly, these wins do…
The Sudanese Council of Ministers passed a bill amending the Sudanese Nationality Law on Sunday. Under the chairmanship of First Vice-President and Prime Minister, Lt. Gen. Bakri Hasan Saleh, the Ministers approved the amendments for 2018. Under the new amendments,…
According to the report from the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC), delivered to the President in January 2017, Section 75 and 76 of the 1991 Constitution should be replaced, to enable citizens by naturalization to hold Public Office and Elected offices,…
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Global estimates suggest that approximately 10 million people worldwide are living without any legal citizenship. Stateless persons face overwhelming obstacles that limit their access to basic entitlements and protections, leaving them vulnerable to discrimination and abuse. Research on…
The parliament majority bloc has submitted a draft law providing for granting Moroccan nationality to foreign spouses of Moroccan women. The draft amends the provisions of Article 10 of the nationality law, which grants Moroccan nationality only to a foreign…
Un étranger marié à une Marocaine pourra peut-être bientôt bénéficier de la nationalité marocaine. C’est ce que stipule une proposition de loi déposée au Parlement le 17 novembre par six partis de la majorité. Le Bureau de la chambre à…
By Amira El Masaiti Rabat – Foreigners married to Moroccan women and living in the kingdom will soon be allowed to obtain Moroccan citizenship, after the government discussed the possibility of amending Article 10 of the Moroccan nationality code, which…