A/HRC/25/28 Change in civil status 16. International law states that a woman’s nationality should not be automatically affected by marriage or divorce, as set out in the 1957 Convention on the Nationality of Married Women and reaffirmed in article 9, paragraph 1, of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Similarly, article 8 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child protects the identity of the child, including nationality, from unlawful interference — a provision which, when read in conformity with articles 3 (best interests of the child) and article 7 (right to a nationality) of the Convention, may preclude the loss of nationality by a child in the context of adoption, recognition, legitimation or another such act. The 1961 Convention explicitly reaffirms that if States regulate the loss of nationality in the context of any change in civil status, this must never lead to statelessness..34 17. The nationality of the male head of the family was, historically, often decisive for other family members: children acquired the nationality of their father at birth, women, the nationality of their husband upon marriage and, in some cases, a change in civil status could lead to an automatic change in nationality.35 Today, however, in accordance with developments in international law, as outlined in the previous paragraph, laws providing for the loss or deprivation of nationality purely on the ground of a change in civil status are increasingly rare. Very few States reported such provisions in their laws in their submissions for this report.36 Absence 18. Where a national has been absent from his or her country of nationality for an extended period of time, this may be viewed as causing the genuine link with the State to weaken and may be a ground for the loss or deprivation of nationality. Although the 1961 Convention accepts that the loss or deprivation of nationality in the context of absence can, exceptionally, lead to statelessness, it sets out strict criteria: in respect of nationality acquired by naturalization following more than seven years of residence abroad, if they have neglected to register with the authorities of the State during this period or, in respect of nationality acquired by descent, for people born abroad, if they neither return to reside in the State, nor make a declaration to the authorities to retain their nationality upon reaching majority. The European Convention on Nationality does not accept absence as a legitimate ground for loss or deprivation of nationality where statelessness would result. Human rights norms and standards regarding the right to freedom of movement and the protection of family life also preclude loss or deprivation of nationality in response to absence from the State. 19. This ground for loss or deprivation of nationality is, in practice, in significant decline and is retained by only a minority of States. The application of this ground is usually restricted to nationals who acquired nationality by naturalization or by descent while born abroad.37 While the assumption may be that the person has, in the interim, acquired the nationality of the country of residence, many States that provide for the loss or 34 35 36 37 1961 Convention, art. 5. See A/HRC/23/23. Some isolated examples can still be found in nationality laws, for instance in Togo and Niger, where divorce from a national may lead to the revocation of nationality acquired by marriage. See, for example, Bronwen Manby, Citizenship Law in Africa: A comparative study, Open Society Institute, 2010, table 6: Criteria for loss of citizenship; EUDO Citizenship, Protection Against Statelessness Database (Mode S08: residence abroad), available from http://eudo-citizenship.eu/ databases/protection-against-statelessness?p=&application=modesProtectionStatelessness&search =1&modeby=idmode&idmode=S08. 9