International Human Rights Norms and the 1961 Convention 1. Article 15 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) establishes the right of every person to a nationality and prohibits arbitrary deprivation of nationality. The right to a nationality is fundamental for the enjoyment in practice of the full range of human rights. The object and purpose of the 1961 Convention is to prevent and reduce statelessness, thereby ensuring every individual’s right to a nationality. The Convention does so by establishing rules for Contracting States on acquisition, renunciation, loss and deprivation of nationality. 2. Under the general rules of treaty interpretation (1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of the Treaties, Articles 31-33), the ordinary meaning of the terms used in the 1961 Convention must be read in their context and taking into account the object and purpose of the Convention. They must also be read in light of subsequent developments in international law, in particular, international human rights law. Universal human rights treaties of relevance include the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Regional human rights instruments are also relevant, including the 1969 American Convention on Human Rights, the 1990 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the 1995 CIS Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; the 1997 European Convention on Nationality, the 2004 Arab Charter on Human Rights, the 2005 Covenant on the Rights of the Child in Islam, and the 2006 Council of Europe Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in relation to State succession. Several participants asserted that as a result of State practice, such as ratification of the treaties mentioned above and adoption by consensus of many international resolutions on nationality, the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality and the related principle that statelessness is to be prevented have crystallized as norms of customary international law. Impact of gender equality norms on the interpretation of provisions of the 1961 Convention 3. The principle of gender equality enshrined in the ICCPR and CEDAW must be taken into account when interpreting the 1961 Convention. In particular, CEDAW Article 9(1) guarantees that women shall enjoy equality with men in their ability to acquire, change or retain their nationality. Of particular importance for the interpretation of the loss provisions of the 1961 Convention is the fact that Article 9 prescribes that the States Parties shall ensure that neither marriage to an alien nor change of nationality by the husband during marriage shall automatically change the nationality of the wife, render her stateless or force upon her the nationality of the husband. Under CEDAW Article 9(2) States must also grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children. 4. Prior to the adoption of the ICCPR (1966) and CEDAW (1979), many nationality laws discriminated on the basis of gender. The 1961 Convention acknowledges that statelessness can arise from conflicts of laws in cases of marriage between nationals of different States. Article 5(1) of the 1961 Convention therefore prohibits statelessness 2