Ms. Daniela Buchmann Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Human Rights Treaties Division (HRTD) Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Palais Wilson - 52, rue des Pâquis CH-1201 Geneva Switzerland By E-mail: cedaw@ohchr.org /dbuchmann@ohchr.org Re: Qatar– 73rd State Party Review (1 July 2019 – 19 July 2019) 10 June 2019 Distinguished Committee Members, We respectfully submit this letter in advance of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women’s (CEDAW) discussion on Qatar at its 73st pre-sessional working group from 1 July 2019 - 19 July 2019. The co-submitting organizations are greatly concerned about gender discrimination in the nationality law of Qatar. This letter will focus on continued violations of women’s nationality rights in Qatar in direct violation of Articles 2 (nondiscrimination, including in policy measures) and 9 (nationality), resulting in further violations of CEDAW articles, including articles 3 (Guarantee of Basic Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms), 13-a and b (Economic and Social Benefits), and 16-1 b and d (Marriage and Family Life) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights mobilizes international action to end gender discrimination in nationality laws, through its coalition of national and international organizations and activists, including Steering Committee members Equality Now, Equal Rights Trust, the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, Women’s Learning Partnership, and Women’s Refugee Commission. The Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to promoting inclusive societies by realising and protecting the right to a nationality for all. Equality Now is an international human rights organization with ECOSOC status working to protect and promote the rights of women and girls worldwide since 1992, including through our membership network comprised of individuals and organizations in over 190 countries. In 2009, Qatar became a state party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), though retained a reservation to Article 9(2). The cosubmitters note, however that paragraph 6 of General recommendation 21, made by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, at its 13th session in 1994 states that: Nationality is critical to full participation in society. [...] Without status as nationals or citizens, women are deprived of the right to [...] access to public benefits and a choice of 1