A/HRC/36/30 their nationality rights. To ensure the enjoyment by women of equal nationality rights, reforms of nationality law and other relevant laws may be required. 5. Once laws were reformed, States should take measures to ensure effective implementation of those laws, by: (a) developing national plans of action; (b) awarenessraising and capacity-building of duty-bearers, including national and local government officials and the judiciary working on nationality laws and civil registration, and rightsholders, including women who wish to acquire, change, retain or reclaim their nationality and that of their children and spouses; (c) eliminating practical and administrative obstacles that may prevent women from exercising their rights under the reformed laws; and (d) providing access to justice and effective remedies in the case of a violation of rights. III. Importance of guaranteeing women’s equal nationality rights 6. Experts and participants at the workshop underscored the importance of eliminating discrimination against women in nationality rights, including as one of the essential measures for States to: (a) guarantee a universal human right to nationality and the enjoyment of many other human rights, including the right of every child to acquire a nationality; (b) prevent and reduce statelessness; (c) fulfil the international commitments they had made, including under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; (d) promote stability and development of society; (e) reduce risks of gender-based violence; and (f) protect family unity and the right to found a family. 7. Experts and participants at the workshop recognized the relevance of the existing international legal framework on the right to nationality and the negative impact of discrimination against women in nationality rights on the enjoyment of various human rights. The right to a nationality was a universal human right recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 5 Every man, woman and child had the right to a nationality, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, and no one should be arbitrarily deprived of his or her nationality. 6 One delegation stated that ensuring gender equality in nationality was “a fair return to normality”. 8. Article 9 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women recognized that women had equal rights to men to acquire, change or retain their nationality and that of their children. 7 Several regional human rights treaties also recognized the right to a nationality 8 and equality with regard to nationality-related matters.9 9. Articles 2, 7 and 8 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child provided for the right of the child to nationality without discrimination on the basis of any kind, including the sex of the child or the status of the parents. When women were unable to confer their nationality on their children on an equal basis to men, children may be left without a nationality, in contradiction with the Convention. 5 See Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 15. See also International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 24 (2)-(3); Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 7; and International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, art. 29. 6 See Universal Declaration of Human Rights, arts. 2 and 15. See also Human Rights Council resolution 32/7, second preambular para. and para. 1. 7 The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women holds that article 9 also extends an obligation to ensure equality between men and women in the ability to confer their nationality on spouses. See its general recommendation No. 32 (2014). 8 These include: the Organization of American States Convention on the Nationality of Women; the American Convention on Human Rights; the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child; the European Convention on Nationality; and the Commonwealth of Independent States Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. 9 The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa and the Arab Charter on Human Rights also have provisions on equality with regard to nationalityrelated matters, even though they qualify these with deference to domestic laws. 3