11. Further, Saudi Arabia is a party to other treaties that do preserve the right to nationality without discrimination. According to Article 7 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), which Saudi Arabia is party to enshrines every child’s right to be registered immediately after a birth and to acquire a nationality, and protects all children from statelessness. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) states in Article 9 that: (2) States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children. However, Saudi Arabia has in place a reservation to Article 9.6 Gender Discrimination in Saudi Arabia’s Nationality Law 12. According to Saudi Arabia’s nationality law, the Saudi Arabian Citizenship System, children of Saudi fathers acquire Saudi nationality at birth, regardless of the child’s birthplace, but Saudi women cannot transmit their Saudi nationality automatically to their children. Article 7 of the law states that, “Individuals born inside or outside the Kingdom from a Saudi father, or Saudi mother and unknown father, or born inside the Kingdom from unknown parents (foundling) are considered Saudis.”7 Alongside the discrimination that this is embedded in and the human rights impacts it has on the children, it also - in many cases - puts children at risk of statelessness when they cannot obtain the nationality of their father, or if their father is also stateless. 13. Article 8 of Saudi Arabian Citizenship System further goes onto allow children of Saudi mothers the option of applying for nationality at the age of majority, with conditions attached. The Article states that ‘Individuals born inside the Kingdom from Non-Saudi father and Saudi mother may be granted Saudi Citizenship by the decision of The Minister of Interior in case of the following conditions. a- Having a permanent Resident Permit (Iqama) when he reaches the legal age; b- Having good behaviour, and never sentenced to criminal judgment or imprisonment for more than six months; c- Being fluent in Arabic; dApplying for the citizenship after one year of reaching the legal age.’ This allows the option for children of Saudi women to naturalise, at the states discretion, after reaching the age of majority. Although this option is a step forward, it falls far behind standards of gender equality and child rights. This provision does not render mothers the same nationality rights as fathers, and denies children access to many rights in their childhood. 14. Saudi women are also denied the right to transfer their nationality to non-national spouses, a right that is reserved only for Saudi males, according to Article 14 of the Citizenship act. 15. In addition, despite Article 7 of the CRC obligating states to ensure every child’s right to a nationality, particularly if they would otherwise be stateless, Saudi Arabia’s nationality law contains no safeguard against statelessness at birth. Such a safeguard would, in practice, mean that any child born in Saudi Arabia who cannot obtain any other nationality would acquire Saudi nationality without undue delay. Without such a safeguard, Saudi Arabia does not have at its disposal, one of the most efficient ways that would both lead to no new cases of statelessness in the territory and would allow Saudi Arabia to ensure it does not violate many of its international obligations. 7 Saudi Arabia Citizenship System, http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/3fb9eb6d2.pdf