15 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961 Convention), opened for signature 30 August 1961, 989 UNTS 175 (entered into force 13 December 1975). 16 See also: UNHCR, Good Practices Paper – Action 9: Acceding to the UN Statelessness Conventions, 28 April 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/553f617f4.html [accessed 16 July 2019]. 17 United Nations OCHA, Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, September 2004. 18 League of Arab States, Arab Charter on Human Rights (ArCHR), opened for signature 22 May 2004, reprinted in 12 Int’l Hum. Rts/ Rep. 893 2005 (entered into force 15 March 2008). 19 Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Covenant on the Rights of the Child in Islam, June 2005, OIC/9-IGGE/HRI/2004/Rep.Final. 20 Sharjah Principles, 16 Oct 2014, 3. 21 Brad Blitz and Maureen Lynch, Statelessness and the Benefits of Citizenship: A Comparative Study (Oxford Brookes University 2009), p 23. 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 56 The Legal Agenda in partnership with Tilburg University and the Open Society Foundations, Nationality and Cases of Statelessness in the Middle East and North Africa, Laura van Waas and Zahra Albarazi (eds.) 2016, p 51. Ibid. UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Progress report on UNHCR activities in the field of statelessness, EC/49/SC/CRP.15, Geneva: 4 June 1999. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), A passport to protection: A guide to birth registration programming, 2013, p 11. UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Background Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness 2018, 8 March 2018, available at: https://www.refworld. org/docid/5aa10fd94.html. Egypt, Iraq and Tunisia withdrew their reservations to Article 9(2) of CEDAW after altering their nationality laws to be gender equal. See UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Equal Citizens, Thriving Families, Stronger Societies: Realizing Gender-Equal Nationality Rights in the Middle East-North Africa Region, 5 April 2018, available at: http://www.refworld. org/docid/5ac335644.html. UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), CEDAW General Recommendations Nos. 2, 3 and 4, adopted at the Sixth Session, 1987 (contained in Document A/42/38), 1987, A/42/38, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/453882a822. html, UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), CEDAW General Recommendation No. 20: Reservations to the Convention, 1992, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/52d91fd34.html, UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), General Recommendation No. 28 on the Core