A/HRC/23/23 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The Citizenship Act was amended in 1995 to conform to the ruling. 64. In the advisory opinion on the Proposed Amendments to the Naturalization Provisions of the Constitution of Costa Rica (1984), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights stated that the constitutional provision discriminating between men and women in the acquisition of nationality through marriage with a citizen of Costa Rica was in violation of the right to equal protection recognized in the Inter-American Convention. The Court recommended that the Constitution should be amended, which promptly ensued. 65. In Genovese v. Malta (2011),52 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that nationality fell under the scope of protection of the European Convention of Human Rights as part of a person’s social identity, which in turn is part of that person’s private life, and that discrimination between a child’s father and mother was not permitted with regard to access to nationality. 66. Other cases not directly dealing with nationality-related matters have also had an important impact in strengthening the prohibition of discrimination based on sex in relation to nationality-related matters: discrimination against foreign husbands to attain resident status (Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra and 19 other Mauritian women v. Mauritius (1981) Human Rights Committee);53 the right to family life (Berrehab v. the Netherlands (1988) and Beldjoudi v. France, European Court of Human Rights); and freedom of movement (Rattigan and Others v. Chief Immigration Officer, Zimbabwe), among others. 67. Some countries in the Middle East and in the North African region offer good examples of how Governments have engaged in reforms of their laws on nationality to bring greater equality to nationality-related matters. The role of civil society in advocating for changes in the region has been also noteworthy. Some of the factors contributing to the success of these civil society campaigns included the adoption of a clear vision and strategy of action, the strengthening of the campaign through both a regional and a national focus, investment in comprehensive research and building broad coalitions, and the effective use of the media.54 68. One regional campaign, led by the Collective for Research and Training on Development – Action, maintained its focus on documenting the processes, developing advocacy skills, undertaking political lobbying, mobilizing women and the general public, working with media and maintaining regional linkages and the solidarity aspect of the campaign.55 It also provided direct support to women affected by the current nationality laws through legal counselling. Various other strategies were then adopted at national level; for instance, in Morocco press conferences, protests and other activities targeting Government, Parliament, the general public and media were organized by the Association démocratique des femmes du Maroc and its local allies.56 A network of “listening centres” was created where women’s organizations recorded how the discriminatory law had an impact on families throughout the country. One of the strengths of the campaign was its ability to mobilize Moroccan women married to foreigners able for the first time to speak out about their situation. They were also able to capitalize on the momentum when the 52 René de Groot and Olivier Vonk, “Nationality, Statelessness and ECHR’s Article 8: Comments on Genovese v. Malta”, European Journal of Migration and Law, vol. 14, no. 3, 2012. 53 Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 40 (A/36/40). 54 Laura van Waas, The situation of stateless persons (see footnote 27), p. 4. 55 See Arab Women’s Rights to Nationality Campaign, available from http://crtda.org.lb/project/22. 56 Contribution of Association démocratique des femmes du Maroc. 15