A/HRC/36/30
VI. Effective implementation of reformed nationality laws
32.
In paragraphs 6 and 9 of its resolution 32/7 the Human Rights Council urged States
that had reformed nationality laws to ensure effective implementation of the laws and called
upon States to ensure that effective and appropriate remedies were available to all persons,
in particular women and children, whose right to a nationality had been violated.
Implementation of reformed laws may be restricted when: (a) there was no clear
implementation plan with clear timelines and adequate resource allocation; (b) officials
applied the provisions inconsistently or arbitrarily; (c) affected women and their children
and spouses were not aware of their rights; (d) administrative procedures and requirements
had discriminatory impacts; and (e) effective remedies were not available in the event of
non-compliance with the reformed laws.
33.
Experts and participants at the workshop shared recommendations for overcoming
challenges often faced by States in the implementation of reformed nationality laws. They
emphasized the importance of putting in place implementation plans for the reformed laws.
In that regard, they suggested that Governments should consider: (a) developing national
plans of action to implement the reformed nationality laws, which included plans and
budgeting for public awareness-raising campaigns, capacity-building of civil authorities
and support to women who sought to acquire, change, retain or confer their nationality; (b)
promoting consistency between national plans of actions for the realization of the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development and those for ending statelessness that can also be
used to eliminate discrimination against women in nationality rights and implement the
reformed nationality laws (for example, including in a national development plan a
workplan for achieving Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals, on gender equality,
could include a comprehensive review of the policies, regulations and procedures that
discriminated against women, including those relevant to nationality rights); and (c)
including in the plan, with sufficient budget, provisions for the training of civil authorities
and for public awareness-raising campaigns about the reform process.
34.
Experts and participants also underlined the importance of raising awareness and
building capacity of rights-holders and duty-bearers on the reformed laws, and
recommended that Governments: (a) publicize the reformed nationality laws and raise
public awareness on the laws, including in local languages with clear instructions on how
affected persons could benefit from reforms; (b) raise awareness among women and those
affected by discriminatory nationality laws about their nationality rights and provide them
with the support necessary, including legal aid, to acquire, change, retain or reacquire their
nationality; (c) when disseminating information and providing support, proactively reach
out to women who may be at a higher risk of statelessness or whose children may be at a
higher risk of statelessness, including immigrating and emigrating women, refugee women,
indigenous and minority women, women living abroad, single women heads of household,
and victims and survivors of gender-based violence and trafficking in persons; (d) conduct
gender-sensitive training of public officials, including judges and local leaders, and targeted
outreach to civil society to engage relevant communities; (e) eradicate stigma and penalties
against stateless persons (stigma and fear of penalties, such as detention or deportation, may
inhibit women and their families who are rendered stateless owing to gender discrimination
in the former nationality law to acknowledge their status and seek to acquire nationality);
(f) develop guidelines regarding the application of nationality laws and related
administrative policies, including accountability mechanisms in case of non-compliance by
officials; and (g) take all measures necessary to ensure that all girls and boys are registered
immediately after birth, without discrimination on the basis of sex, race, disability, social or
other status, including with respect to the sex of the parent requesting the birth certificate
(marriages should also be registered in a timely manner).
35.
Furthermore, they recommended that Governments eliminate practical barriers for
women and their families to exercise their nationality rights, including by: (a) ensuring that
men and women had equal and autonomous access to documents used to prove nationality,
in particular passports, identity documents and birth certificates and, where relevant,
marriage certificates; (b) providing for alternative systems of proof of identity in contexts
where documentary evidence was not available or could not reasonably be obtained,
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