Towards gender equal nationality laws - Law reform and momentum since 2023 - Progress, regress and ones to watch Regress ▶ Iran: As noted on our website, in November 2023 Iran repealed its 2019 amendment to the Law on Determining the Nationality of Children Born from a Marriage of Iranian Women and Foreign Men, upon approval of the National Residency Organization Plan. Although the amendment did not create full equality between men and women (children born to non-Iranian fathers were still required to apply for nationality and pass a security check, whereas children born to Iranian men obtain citizenship automatically at birth), it was a significant step in the right direction. Without the amendment, children born to Iranian mothers and non-Iranian fathers within Iran are now only granted citizenship once they reach the age of 18 and have lived in the country for more than a year; and children born to Iranian mothers and non-Iranian fathers outside of Iran may be granted citizenship once they reach the age of 18 and have lived in the country for more than five years. Clarifications ▶ Tonga: not included in our The state we’re in report as it is a gender equal nationality law with respect to conferral of citizenship on children and spouses, with minor discrimination against formerly Tongan men who renounced their citizenship to acquire their wives’ foreign citizenship and who could have a higher barrier to reacquire Tongan citizenship on the death of or divorce from a foreign wife. (See Art. 8(4) of the Nationality Act (2016)). Fortunately, this would impact very few people but nonetheless should be reformed. “8 Naturalization of non-Tongans (4) In the case of a woman who was a Tongan subject previous to her marriage with a nonTongan and whose husband has died or whose marriage has been dissolved, the requirements of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section as to residence shall not apply.” 3 ▶ Cote d’Ivoire: In most respects, the Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) has a gender-equal nationality law regarding the conferral of citizenship on children and spouses. However, Art. 28(3) allows the wife and adult children of a man who acquires Ivorian nationality to be naturalised without any condition as to length of residence. This discriminates against foreign women who become naturalised, as their spouses and children cannot get naturalised immediately, and in fact naturalised women cannot confer Ivorian nationality upon their children unless their spouse has died. (See ISI UPR, para. 23) Major events ▶ Global Multistakeholder Summit on Advancing Gender Equality in Nationality Laws The Global Multistakeholder Summit on Advancing Gender Equality in Nationality Laws took place on 10-11 December, 2024. The Summit brought together parliamentarians, government officials, and representatives from civil society organisations from among the twentyfour countries where women lack the right to confer nationality on their children on an equal basis with men, as well as representatives from countries that have enacted reforms to share learnings from reform processes. Videos of presentations, including on achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (the SDGs), are available. ▶ Africa Multistakeholder Convening on Achieving Gender Equality in Nationality Laws Held in Nairobi in February 2026, the convening brought together government representatives, parliamentarians, civil society leaders, including impacted activists, and regional and international experts to move toward coordinated action. With each day centred on the lived realities of impacted activists, participants shared national experiences, identified legal and