A/HRC/60/42 I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 53/16, the Human Rights Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in coordination with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), to organize, prior to the fifty-sixth session of the Council, a half-day expert workshop, in an accessible format, to showcase best practices in the promotion of equal nationality rights in law and in practice and to submit to the Council at its fifty-seventh session a report on that workshop, including any recommendations stemming therefrom. Pursuant to Council decision 55/115, the event was postponed. In accordance with the new timeline set out in the annex to the decision, the expert workshop was to be held before the fifty-ninth session of the Human Rights Council, and the report submitted to the Council at its sixtieth session. The workshop took place on 6 May 2025. 1 Owing to the ongoing liquidity crisis affecting the United Nations Secretariat, the workshop was held online. 2. The workshop was aimed at raising awareness of and promoting dialogue on the right to a nationality and its linkages with other human rights, especially equality and nondiscrimination, and highlighting challenges faced and good practices implemented with regard to ensuring equal nationality rights and preventing statelessness. 3. The expert workshop was attended by nearly 150 participants, including representatives of States Members of the United Nations, United Nations specialized agencies, regional and intergovernmental bodies, national human rights institutions and civil society organizations, academics and persons affected by statelessness. 4. The expert workshop featured two panel discussions, each lasting one hour and 20 minutes. During the first discussion, panellists provided an overview of discrimination in nationality matters, focusing on its disproportionate impact on minorities and women. During the second discussion, panellists presented examples of good practices from around the world aimed at addressing unequal nationality laws and resolving statelessness among children, minorities and other populations affected. The first discussion was moderated by a representative from OHCHR, the second by a representative from UNHCR. Panellists, representing diverse backgrounds and perspectives, delivered statements that highlighted the key aspects of each topic. The final portion of each discussion was dedicated to comments and questions from participants, concluding with brief closing remarks from the panellists and the moderator. 5. The present report contains a summary of the discussions held during the expert workshop and outlines the key recommendations that emerged. II. Opening of the expert workshop 6. Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, the Assistant High Commissioner for Protection at UNHCR, opened the workshop by recalling that in its resolution 53/16, the Human Rights Council called upon States to adopt and implement nationality legislation, consistent with their obligations under international law, to reduce and eliminate statelessness, including through the elimination of discrimination. Discrimination in nationality laws – whether codified or embedded in administrative procedures – remained a major global challenge, disproportionately affecting minority communities. It was estimated that over 75 per cent of stateless individuals belonged to such minority groups, including nomadic peoples, hill tribes and long-standing resident communities never formally recognized by the State in which they resided. She expressed concern that around two dozen States had legal frameworks that explicitly allowed the denial or revocation of nationality on the basis of race or ethnicity, and that 24 States restricted women from passing their nationality to their children on the same basis as men. Systemic discrimination often manifested in more subtle ways, such as through administrative barriers that resulted in stateless individuals being denied access to essential 1 2 Video recordings and other documents of the workshop are available at https://www.ohchr.org/en/events/events/2025/expert-workshop-showcase-best-practices-promotionequal-nationality-rights-law. GE.25-10379