(e) The father has been unwilling to fulfil administrative steps to confer his
nationality or acquire proof of nationality for his children, for example,
if he has abandoned the family.29
The proposed provision ensures that women do in fact have the same ability
as men to pass on their nationality to their children, in line with States’
obligations under CEDAW. This law would also help to ensure that States fulfil
their obligations under the CRC, which is universally ratified in the region.
The CRC states that every child has a right to a nationality, and in Article 7(2),
it requires that State parties “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 7 of the Covenant on the Rights of the Child in
Islam similarly requires that States Parties safeguard the elements of a child’s
identity, including nationality.30 The International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, to which all but four LAS member States are parties, likewise
stipulates that every child has the right to acquire a nationality.31 The Human
Rights Committee, the treaty body which oversees State compliance with
the ICCPR, has elaborated on this rule and has established that State parties
“are required to adopt every appropriate measure, both internally and in
cooperation with other States to ensure that every child has a nationality
when he or she is born.”32 The Human Rights Committee further notes that
the right of children to acquire a nationality should not be impeded by
practices which discriminate on the basis of “children born out of wedlock or
of stateless parents or based on the nationality status of one or both of the
parents.”33
The adoption of a provision which allows for citizenship by descent from
both the mother and father will help to ensure that children born both
in the territory of a State, as well as those born abroad, are able to avail
themselves of their right to a nationality by increasing the circumstances in
which any particular child is able to access this right. In relation to children
born outside the country of nationality, some countries require that there
is a sufficient nexus to the State, such as habitual residence in the State
by the child, particularly upon reaching the age of majority, or the parent
who is a citizen of the State, or maintaining a sufficient connection to the
country of nationality by registration with its consular services abroad. In
order to adhere to international law which provides that there is a positive
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