The Malawi Human Rights Resource Centre, Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion and Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights Joint Submission to the Human Rights Council at the 36th Session of the Universal Periodic Review Malawi Introduction 1. The Malawi Human Rights Resource Centre (MHRRC), Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI) and Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights make this joint submission to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), on the right to a nationality and human rights challenges pertaining to statelessness in Malawi. 2. This submission focuses on gender discrimination, the right to nationality and statelessness. 3. The Malawi Human Rights Resource Centre (MHRRC) was established in September 1997 with an overall objective of promoting and strengthening a culture of human rights in Malawi. The MHRRC works with civil society organizations to effectively support the developing democracy in the country and contributes towards the consolidation of channels of free expression and other rights for the citizens by working with and building the capacity NGOs and CSOs working on human rights. 4. ISI1 is an independent non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting an integrated, human rights-based response to the injustice of statelessness and exclusion. Established in August 2014, it is the first and only global centre committed to promoting the human rights of stateless persons and ending statelessness. The Institute has made over 50 country specific UPR submissions on the human rights of stateless persons, and also compiled summaries of the key human rights challenges related to statelessness in all countries under review under the 23rd to the 35th UPR Sessions. 5. The Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights mobilizes international action for the removal of gender-discriminatory provisions from all nationality laws, through its coalition of national, regional and international organizations and activists, including steering committee members Equality Now, Equal Rights Trust, the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, UNHCR, Women’s Learning Partnership and Women’s Refugee Commission. Previous UPR of Malawi under the First and Second Cycle 6. Malawi was previously reviewed during the 9th and 22nd sessions of the UPR, in 2010 and 2015 respectively. During the first cycle, Malawi received two recommendations related 1 For more information about the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, see: www.institutesi.org. 1