Viet Nam: Abandoned newborns and children found in the Vietnamese territory whose parents are unknown, have Vietnamese nationality.91 Lao PDR: In the event that one of the parents is a Lao citizen and the other parent is an apatrid, the children will be considered Lao citizens by birth without taking their place of birth into consideration.92 Children born in the territory of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to apatrid parents permanently residing in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and integrated into the Lao society and culture will acquire Lao citizenship if requested by their parents.93 Children found in the territory of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and whose parents identity is unknown will be considered Lao citizens.94 Indonesia: Citizen of the Republic of Indonesia is […] children born in Indonesian territory whose parents are of undetermined citizenship at the time of the child’s birth; children newly born and found in Indonesian territory and whose parents are undetermined; [and] children born in Indonesian territory whom at the time of birth both parents were stateless or whose whereabouts are undetermined.95 A further point to consider when assessing the potential for statelessness to be created is whether everyone enjoys equal protection under the law. If there are elements of discrimination on the grounds of gender, religion or ethnicity, this can increase the risk of statelessness for particular groups. Thanks to the international legal principle of non-discrimination and the influence of CEDAW, many states have now corrected any gender inequality that was previously present in their nationality laws. This trend can also be seen in the ASEAN region. In most circumstances, women can now pass on their nationality to their children on equal terms with men.96 Singapore and Indonesia, for example, both amended their nationality law on exactly this point in recent years (2004 and 2006 respectively). However, there are still a number of states that have yet to provide for equality between men and women in the right to confer nationality through marriage.97 In terms of other forms of discrimination, a small number of nationality laws in the region make reference to race or ethnicity. This is one of the circumstances that underlies the statelessness of the Muslim residents of northern Rakhine State in Myanmar.98 However, states are also moving away from this kind of distinction. For instance, in 91 Article 18 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality, Order No. 22/2008/L-CTN, 2008. Note that One of the explicit objectives of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality is the “restriction of the situation of non-nationality”. In accordance with this ambition, the law “creates conditions for children born in the Vietnamese territory to have a nationality and stateless persons permanently residing in Viet Nam to acquire Vietnamese nationality”. Article 8 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality, Order No. 22/2008/L-CTN, 2008. 92 Article 11 of the Law on Lao Nationality, No. 06/90/PSA, 1990, as amended. 93 Article 12 of the Law on Lao Nationality, No. 06/90/PSA, 1990, as amended. 94 Article 13 of the Law on Lao Nationality, No. 06/90/PSA, 1990, as amended. 95 Article 4, paragraphs 9-11 of the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia, Decree No. 12, 2006. 96 One exception is Malaysia where women cannot transmit their nationality to their children if they are born outside state territory. Section 1 (b), (c) and (d), Part II of the Second Schedule of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, 1957, as amended. In addition, there is some conflicting information with regard to the nationality law of Brunei Darussalam. Some sources cite the adoption of an amendment in 2002 which allows women to pass nationality to their children on the same terms as men. See Freedom House, Freedom in the World – Brunei (2006), 19 December 2005; US Department of State, 2007 Report on International Religious Freedom – Brunei, 14 September 2007. However, this revised version of the law was not available to the researcher and other sources continue to express concern as to the gender inequality in the nationality law. See Human Rights Council, Compilation prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in accordance with paragraph 15 (b) of the annex to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1 – Brunei Darussalam, A/HRC/WG.6/6/BRN/2, 7 August 2009. 97 These are Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. 98 Garcia and C. Olson, Rohingya: Burma’s forgotten minority, Refugees International, 2008; Human Rights Watch, Perilous Plight – Burma’s Rohingya take to the seas, 2009. Note that Brunei Darussalam also refers to acceptance as belonging to one of various specified indigenous groups of the Malay race as a basis for citizenship. Article 4 and the First Schedule of the 14