BACKGROUND NOTE ON GENDER EQUALITY, NATIONALITY LAWS AND STATELESSNESS 2019 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 1. Since 2012, UNHCR has issued an annual background note on gender equality in legal provisions in nationality laws which relate to conferral of nationality to children. This Background Note provides the most up-to-date information available to UNHCR as of 8 March 2019. Sixty years ago, the nationality laws of the majority of States did not provide equal rights to women in nationality matters. This has radically changed for the better since the adoption in 1979 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). UNHCR’s survey of nationality legislation 2 reveals that equality between men and women relating to conferral of nationality upon children has not yet been attained in 25 countries, and these countries are located in almost all parts of the world. These nationality laws do not give mothers the ability to confer their nationality on their children on an equal basis as fathers. The majority of these States are found in the Middle East and North Africa (twelve countries) and Sub-Saharan Africa (six countries). Five States in Asia and the Pacific do not grant mothers equal rights as fathers to confer their nationality on their children, and the same is the case for two States in the Americas. These States are listed in the table on page 6 and an analysis of those countries’ laws is presented on pages 7-10. It is important to note that an additional group of States grant equality to men and women with regard to the nationality of children but not with regard to acquisition, change or retention of nationality upon change in civil status.3 Gender inequality in nationality laws can create statelessness where children cannot acquire nationality from their fathers. This can occur (i) where the father is stateless; (ii) where the laws of the father’s country do not permit conferral of nationality in certain circumstances, such as when the child is born abroad; (iii) where a father is unknown or not married to the mother at the time of birth; (iv) where a father has been unable to fulfill administrative steps to confer his nationality or acquire proof of nationality for his children because, for example, he has died, has been forcibly separated from his family, or cannot fulfill onerous documentation or other requirements; or (v) where a father has been 2 1 Discrimination between men and women in nationality matters is addressed in a number of international human rights treaties. Article 9 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) guarantees women’s equality (i) with respect to acquisition, change, or retention of their nationality and (ii) their ability to confer nationality on their children. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other treaties also address the issue. 2 Note that this information is current as of 8 March 2019. 3 An assessment undertaken by UNHCR shows that more than 50 States retain such legal provisions. UNHCR | 8 March 2019