Gender inequality in nationality laws can create statelessness where children cannot acquire nationality from their fathers. This can occur (i) where the father is stateless; (ii) where the laws of the father’s country do not permit conferral of nationality in certain circumstances, such as when the child is born abroad or is born out of wedlock; (iii) where a father is unknown; (iv) where a father has been unable to fulfill administrative steps to confer his nationality or acquire proof of nationality for his children because, for example, he has died, has been forcibly separated from his family, or cannot fulfill onerous documentation requirements; or (v) where a father has been unwilling to fulfill administrative steps to confer his nationality or acquire proof of nationality for his children, for example if he has abandoned the family. Ensuring gender equality in nationality laws thus helps to mitigate risks of statelessness. It is against this background that UNHCR promotes gender equality in nationality laws as part of its mandate to prevent and reduce statelessness. Law reform to date There is a growing willingness and commitment by States to take action to achieve gender equality in nationality laws. In many instances, discriminatory elements of nationality laws were ‘inherited’ by new States shortly after gaining independence from former colonial powers. Some of these nationality laws have not been reviewed since. In recent years, reform has been undertaken in countries as diverse as Sri Lanka (2003), Egypt (2004), Algeria (2005), Indonesia (2006), Iraq (partial reform in 2006), Morocco (2007), Bangladesh (2009), Kenya (2010), Tunisia (remaining gaps addressed in 2010), Yemen (2010), Monaco (2005, 2011), Senegal (2013), Suriname (2014), Madagascar (2017), Sierra Leone (2006, 2017), the United Arab Emirates (partial reforms in 2011 and 2017), Iran (partial reform in 2019), and Liberia (2022). In many cases, the relevant law reform simply extended to women the right to confer nationality on their children. Indeed, although nationality laws can be complex, reforms to ensure gender equality can often be achieved through relatively simple changes to the formulation of relevant provisions. This can be seen in the example of Kenya’s constitutional reform in 2010. Under the prior Kenyan Constitution of 1969, Kenyan mothers and fathers could confer Kenyan nationality on their children born in Kenya on an equal basis, but only Kenyan fathers could confer nationality on children born abroad. The 2010 Constitution of Kenya addressed this, using the following formulation: A person is a citizen by birth if on the day of the person’s birth, whether or not the person is born in Kenya, either the mother or father of the person is a citizen. U N H C R > B A C K G R O U N D N O T E O N G E N D E R E Q U A L I T Y, N AT I O N A L I T Y L A W S A N D S TAT E L E S S N E S S 2 0 2 4 3