spouse of an Omani woman must legally reside in the state five years longer than the spouse of an Omani man (fifteen years versus ten) and must fulfil additional requirements not asked of the spouses of Omani men in order to qualify for naturalisation. However, there is no indication that the state in fact does naturalise the spouses of Omani women in practice even if they meet these requirements in all but the rarest circumstances. Impact of gender discrimination in Oman’s nationality law and statelessness 11. Gender discrimination in nationality law is a leading cause of statelessness globally. The Omani nationality law includes gender discriminatory provisions that contribute to statelessness, yet there is no statistical information on the scope or extent of statelessness in Oman. The lack of statistical information in itself points to a deeper failure of the state to prioritise and address the issue of the right to nationality and the rights of stateless persons in the country. This is particularly so, when considering the various legal provisions which undermine the right to nationality, thereby increasing the likelihood of statelessness being generated and perpetuated. 12. Stateless persons face wide-ranging human rights violations and hardships, including obstacles to accessing education, healthcare social services, formal employment, property rights, inheritance, freedom of movement, and identity documentation. Stateless persons are also at a greater risk of human trafficking, early and forced marriage, arbitrary detention, and lack of access to justice. 13. More specifically, gender discrimination in the nationality law results in a range of human rights violations impacting children. These include the denial of the right to a nationality and resultant statelessness over generations (Art. 7 CRC); lack of access to public education (Art. 28 CRC), healthcare (Art. 24 CRC) and other services; This restriction can also impede family life in violation of article 9 of the CRC. For example, when foreign men are denied access to their Omani spouses’ nationality, they may be forced to live away from their children due to challenges in acquiring residency permits and obstacles to employment, or they may try to take the children away from the mother and back to their own country.9 Subsequently, this restriction violates the overarching Principles of the CRC as set out in Article 2 (non-discrimination), Article 3 (best interest) and Article 6 (child’s development). 14. Moreover, noncitizen children of Omani mothers, including those born and raised in the country, are denied access to government scholarships for higher education and are forced to leave the country upon reaching the age of majority – unless an Omani company sponsors their visa – often resulting in family separation. 15. In light of the above information, the Committee is urged to ask Oman in its List of Issues and also in its review: a. What steps is Oman taking to address gender discrimination in its nationality laws to ensure that the child of an Omani women has the right to acquire Omani nationality on an equal basis with the child of an Omani man and that the child’s right to a nationality is not undermined? b. What steps has Oman taken to implement the previous recommendations of the CRC, CEDAW and UPR on this issue, and to also fulfil the standards set out in the Arab League Declaration? 9 Equality Now, Campaign to End Sex Discrimination in Nationality and Citizenship Laws, 2013 (updated 2018), http://www.equalitynow.org/sites/default/files/NationalityReport_EN.pdf (accessed 20 June 2020). 3