allowed to become Kiribati citizens, so they may be forced to leave their home country and to reside with their spouse in their country. Section 21 of the Constitution provides the circumstances by which persons of Kiribati descent born outside Kiribati can become a citizen if his father is a citizen. The interpretation of ‘a person of I-Kiribati descent’ in section 29 includes only fathers and not mothers ‘..neither he, his father nor his father’s father …’ This means that any child of an I-Kiribati woman and foreign father does not qualify as a person of I-Kiribati descent and needs to go through the procedures of the Citizenship Commission to gain Kiribati citizenship and passport. 75. The Citizenship Act 1979 also limits citizenship by naturalization by any child or wife by requiring that the father or husband be the applicant for their citizenship.... Women citizens who marry a non-Kiribati citizen cannot include their children in their passport. 75. Several attempts have been made to change the discriminatory provisions in the Constitution. The most recent national constitutional review, a proposal by AMAK to have this provision changed and give foreign males marrying Kiribati women a right to citizenship was not accepted by most who attended the review.” The right of every child to acquire and retain a nationality 16. The gender discrimination in the nationality law of Kiribati results in violations of every child’s right to acquire and retain a nationality. 17. Kiribati’s nationality law therefore does not comply with CRC Articles 7 and 8, when read in accordance with the principle to not discriminate (Article 2) and the principle of the best interests of the child (Article 3). Articles 7 and 8 set out as follows: Article 7 1. The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and. as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents. 2. States Parties shall ensure the implementation of these rights in accordance with their national law and their obligations under the relevant international instruments in this field, in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless. Article 8 1. States Parties undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations as recognized by law without unlawful interference. 2. Where a child is illegally deprived of some or all of the elements of his or her identity, States Parties shall provide appropriate assistance and protection, with a view to re-establishing speedily his or her identity. 18. Under Kiribati law, contrary to these provisions, the ability of a child born abroad to acquire the nationality of their parent is dependent upon the parent’s gender. The denial of the child’s right to a nationality due to discrimination against their parent on grounds of sex is a violation of the CRC. In addition, I-Kiribati women’s inability to confer nationality on a non-national spouse threatens a child’s right to know and be cared for by his or her parents. For example, when foreign 5