where the laws of the father’s country do not permit conferral of nationality in certain
circumstances, such as when the child is born abroad; (iii) where a father is unknown
or not married to the mother at the time of birth; (iv) where a father has been unable to
fulfill administrative steps to confer his nationality or acquire proof of nationality for his
children because, for example, he has died, has been forcibly separated from his family,
or cannot fulfill onerous documentation or other requirements; or (v) where a father has
been unwilling to fulfill administrative steps to confer his nationality or acquire proof of
nationality for his children, for example if he has abandoned the family. Ensuring gender
equality in nationality laws thus helps to mitigate the risks of statelessness. It is against
this background that UNHCR promotes gender equality in nationality laws as part of its
mandate to prevent and reduce statelessness.
Law reform to date
There is a growing willingness and commitment by States to take action to achieve
gender equality in nationality laws. In many instances, discriminatory elements of
nationality laws were ‘inherited’ by new States shortly after gaining independence from
former colonial powers. In some cases, these nationality laws have not been reviewed
since. In recent years, reform has been undertaken in countries as diverse as Sri Lanka
(2003), Egypt (2004), Algeria (2005), Indonesia (2006), Iraq (partial reform in 2006),
Morocco (2007), Bangladesh (2009), Kenya (2010), Tunisia (remaining gaps addressed in
2010), Yemen (2010), Monaco (2005, 2011), Senegal (2013), Suriname (2014), Madagascar
(2017), Sierra Leone (2006, 2017), the United Arab Emirates (partial reforms in 2011 and
2017) and Iran (partial reform in 2019). In many cases, the relevant law reform simply
extended to women the right to confer nationality on their children.
Indeed, although nationality laws can be complex, reforms to incorporate gender
equality can often be achieved through relatively simple changes to the formulation of
relevant provisions. This can be seen in the example of Kenya’s constitutional reform in
2010. Under the prior Kenyan Constitution of 1969, Kenyan mothers and fathers could
confer Kenyan nationality on their children born in Kenya on an equal basis, but only
Kenyan fathers could confer nationality on children born abroad. The 2010 Constitution
of Kenya addressed this, using the following formulation: A person is a citizen by birth if
on the day of the person’s birth, whether or not the person is born in Kenya, either the
mother or father of the person is a citizen.
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