The Impact of Gender Discrimination on Statelessness There are two international UN treaties specifically focused on statelessness, namely the 1954 Convention105 and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness106 (1961 Convention) (collectively, the Statelessness Conventions). While the 1954 Convention obligates states parties to take steps to facilitate stateless persons to acquire nationality, the 1961 Convention focuses primarily on prevention and reduction of statelessness occurring in various scenarios, through reform of national legislation. The 1954 Convention focuses on protection and obligates states parties to ensure stateless people have basic rights. These treaties recognise the general principle that while states have the right to determine their own nationality laws,107 they must do so in line with international norms.108 Under international law, nationality (used interchangeably here with citizenship) refers to the legal bond between an individual and the state.109 Nationality is typically obtained at birth either through the nationality of one’s parents (jus sanguinis) or based on the country in which one is born (jus soli), and can also be obtained, or lost, subsequently through various changes to personal status, including residency changes or marriage. Overall, the Conventions are relatively undersubscribed, with limited international reach. Although most Southern African states are party to the 1954 Convention, including Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, several are not, specifically South Africa and Namibia.110 South Africa, for example, has so far resisted calls to accede to the Conventions, despite stating it would do so in 2011, claiming that its existing laws are adequate to protect against statelessness.111 Only four countries in the region, Angola, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Mozambique, have acceded to the 1961 Convention.112 While states’ reasons for declining to accede to the Conventions may vary, Bloom notes that statelessness is contentious and often viewed as politically problematic, especially given states’ interests with preserving their sovereignty over citizenship issues as compared to the ‘strong positive requirements’ of the Conventions.113 While the Statelessness Conventions offer a targeted and technical focus on addressing the legal causes and consequences of statelessness, they have obvious normative gender gaps. The language of the 1961 Convention uses only the male pronoun (‘he’, ‘his’, ‘himself ’), signalling the invisibility of women during the Convention’s drafting, perhaps unsurprising given the era. The 1954 Convention does not recognise gender or sex as a ground of discrimination.114 In fact, most Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness 1961, 989 UNTS 175. Nottebohm Case (Liechtenstein v Guatemala) Second Phase, ICJ Reports 1955, 4. Hague Convention on Certain Questions Relating to the Conflict of Nationality Law 1930, 179 LNTS 89. 109 Nottebohm op cit note 107. 110 United Nations Treaty Collection, available at https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetailsII.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_ no=V-3&chapter=5&Temp=mtdsg2&clang=_en, accessed on 12 May 2022. 111 Fatima Khan ‘Exploring childhood statelessness in South Africa’ PER / PELJ 2020 (23) at 19. 112 United Nations Treaty Collection, available at https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_ no=V-4&chapter=5&clang=_en, accessed on 12 May 2022 113 Tendayi Bloom ‘United Nations University–GCM Policy Report 02/01: Problematizing the Conventions on Statelessness’ (2013) at 14. 114 For example, Article 3 of the 1954 Convention provides: ‘the Contracting States shall apply the provisions of this Convention to stateless persons without discrimination as to race, religion or country of origin’. 106 107 108 31