7. Guarantee gender equality in nationality and civil registration laws and their implementation to prevent statelessness Further work is necessary to overcome persistent obstacles for women to enjoy equal rights in citizenship matters. Contrary to international human rights standards such as those set out in the ICCPR and CEDAW, the laws of numerous States continue to contain gender-discriminatory provisions and this renders women and their children more susceptible to statelessness. For example, statelessness can result where women do not have equal rights with men to acquire, change, transfer or retain their nationality, or to register the birth of their child.10 Even when they are gender neutral, the application of nationality laws can result in statelessness among women as a result of patterns of discrimination in society which negatively impact access to nationality procedures, access to the justice system and issuance of relevant documentation. Gaps in nationality laws which may lead to statelessness upon change of nationality also have a disproportionate impact on women because they are more likely to renounce their previous nationality and seek to acquire the nationality of their spouse upon marriage. Furthermore, the nationality laws of at least 25 States retain provisions which discriminate against women with regard to conferral of nationality upon their children.11 In the absence of any safeguard, statelessness results from such provisions when the father is a non-national and he is stateless himself, cannot confer nationality under the law of his State, or is unable or unwilling to fulfil any bureaucratic requirements for acquisition of nationality by his children. To break the cycle of statelessness, the UN should increase efforts to guarantee gender equality in nationality laws and protect against the particular vulnerabilities of women and children to statelessness as a foundational part of its efforts to combat statelessness and to promote the rule of law. International human rights instruments offer specific guarantees for women to have equal nationality rights as men and obligations to prevent statelessness among children.12 Concerted efforts by the UN system should be undertaken to realize these rights and respond to the specific protection needs of stateless women and children. B. ADDRESSING STATELESSNESS The UN system can improve its coordinated response to statelessness by action undertaken on four interrelated action approaches, including: (1) identification of stateless persons; (2) prevention of statelessness; (3) reduction of statelessness; and (4) protection of stateless persons. 10 As a result, article 9(1) of the CEDAW establishes that “States Parties shall grant women equal right s with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality. They shall ensure in particular 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”. 11 This is addressed by article 9(2) of the CEDAW which sets out that “States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children”. For additional information, see Background Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness at http://www.refworld.org/docid/58aff4d94.html. 12 CRC, Article 7; 1961 Convention, articles 1 and 4; African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, article 6; American Convention on Human Rights, article 20; European Convention on Nationality, article 6. -9-