Kiribati’s national legal framework 11. According to the Constitution of Kiribati, a child born in Kiribati to a I-Kiribati woman or man is a Kiribati citizen. However, according to section 25 of the Constitution, only children born abroad to an I-Kiribati man can become a citizen: “Every person born outside Kiribati after the day prior to Independence Day shall become a citizen of Kiribati at the date of his birth if at that date his father is, or would but for his death have been, a citizen of Kiribati.” This situation amounts to discrimination on the basis of the parent’s gender. 12. The Citizenship Act 1979 also discriminates against women by requiring the father or husband to be the applicant for the naturalization of his child or wife. 13. I-Kiribati women are also denied the right to confer their nationality on non-national spouses, a right that is reserved for men in Article 26 of the Constitution: “Any woman who after the day prior to Independence Day marries a person who is or becomes a citizen of Kiribati shall be entitled, upon making application in such manner as may be prescribed, to be registered as a citizen of Kiribati. Women’s nationality rights 14. By denying women the equal right to confer nationality on children born outside country, the equal ability to naturalize themselves and their children, and the equal right to confer nationality on a spouse, the Constitution and Citizenship Act violate women’s nationality rights and international human rights standards, including Article 9 of the CEDAW. According to Article 9: 1. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality. They shall ensure in particular that neither marriage to an alien nor change of nationality by the husband during marriage shall automatically change the nationality of the wife, render her stateless or force upon her the nationality of the husband. 2. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children. 15. Though Kiribati has yet to complete its first CEDAW review, the government acknowledged the discriminatory nature of its Constitution and Citizenship Act vis a vis nationality rights in its most recent report to the CEDAW Committee: “74. The rights of people of I-Kiribati descent to citizenship is covered under Chapter III of the Constitution. Section 26 states that any foreign woman who marries a Kiribati citizen shall have the right to Kiribati citizenship. However, there is no mention of foreign men marrying Kiribati nationals. This discriminates Kiribati women since their husbands are not 4