10 Actions to End Statelessness
Action 3:
REMOVE GENDER DISCRIMINATION
FROM NATIONALITY LAWS
STARTING POINT
•
•
MILESTONES
More than 60 States have nationality laws which do not allow women and
men to acquire, change or retain their nationality on an equal basis.
By 2017:
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•
GOAL BY 2024
27 States have nationality laws which do not allow women to confer
nationality to their children on an equal basis as men.
•
By 2020:
10 States introduce reforms to their
nationality laws to allow women to
confer their nationality to their
children on an equal basis as men.
20 States introduce reforms to
their nationality laws to allow
women to acquire, change and
retain their nationality on an equal
basis as men.
•
•
An additional 10 States (20 in total
since 2014) introduce reforms to
their nationality laws to allow
women to confer nationality to
their children on an equal basis as
men.
An additional 20 States (40 in total
since 2014) introduce reforms to
their nationality laws to allow
women to acquire, change and
retain their nationality on an equal
basis as men.
All States have nationality laws which treat women and men equally with
regard to conferral of nationality to their children and with regard to the
acquisition, change and retention of nationality.
CONTEXT
Gender discrimination in nationality laws can have
far-reaching consequences on all aspects of family
life. When women are unable to pass on their
nationality to their children because of
discriminatory laws, and those children are unable
to acquire nationality from the father, they are
rendered stateless. This can happen where the
father is stateless, unknown, or unable or unwilling
to complete administrative requirements to confer
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his nationality or to obtain documentation to prove
the nationality of the child. Such laws are not in
compliance with Article 9(2) of the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women. States which deny women equal
rights as men to acquire, change or retain their
nationality are not in compliance with Article 9(1)
of that Convention.
G LO B A L AC T I O N P L A N TO E N D S TAT E L E S S N E S S : 2 0 1 4 – 2 0 2 4