4, ADDRESSING STATELESSNESS THROUGH THE RIGHTS TO EQUALITY AND NON-DISCRIMINATION statelessness is the result of the denial of nationality which may be arbitrary under international law.® The relevance of discrimination as a key element of each of these causes of statelessness is often underestimated.’ Most clearly, statelessness may result from discriminatory laws. As stated above, 27 countries continue to have nationality laws which discriminate between men and women in determining who can confer their nationality on their children. Where a directly sex discriminatory law prevents a mother from conferring her nationality on her child, that child may be at risk of statelessness if they are also unable to acquire nationality from their father (e.g. where he himself is stateless, he is deceased or his identity is unknown, he cannot confer his nationality on his children due to conflict of laws or he refuses to do so).?° For example, in Nepal, despite much advocacy, the recent enactment of a new Constitution has not resulted in the removal of gender discrimination from the country’s nationality laws.'? Accordingly, it remains the case that children born in Nepal to a Nepali mother and a father whose identity is unknown, who is deceased or has deserted the family, who is a foreigner or who refuses to acknowledge may become stateless.’* Despite a recent increase in reform of the laws of these 27 countries, spearheaded Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights and other actors, of this cause of statelessness remains some way off.’° 8 ’ 10 See for example, various UN Secretary General reports on arbitrary deprivation of nationality: A/HRC/31/29; A/HRC/25/28; A/HRC/23/23; A/HRC/19/43 etc; and various UN Human Rights Council Resolutions on the arbitrary deprivation of nationality: Resolution 32/5 (2016); 26/14 (2014); 20/05 (2012) etc. The authors explored this link in an earlier article: A. de Chickera and J. Whiteman, “Discrimination and the human security of stateless people”, Forced Migration Review 2014, Issue 46, p. 56. This article has formed the starting point for the analysis which follows. See UNHCR, Global Action Plan, supra n3, p. 12. "Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 2015, Section 11, Part 2. 1! 3 his paternity the calls for by the Global the abolition For testimonies from individuals affected by the discriminatory laws in Nepal see Equal Rights Trust, My Children’s Future, supra n2. For more information about the campaign and efforts for reform in the twenty seven countries see, Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, www. equalnationalityrights.org. Both ERT and ISI are steering committee members of the campaign and both authors serve on the committee. 102