transmit nationality to their children born in the country or abroad. It states: “Every
person born outside Sierra Leone on or after the nineteenth day of April 1971, of a
father or mother who was or would but for his death have been a citizen of Sierra
Leone by virtue of sections 2, 3 and 4, is a citizen of Sierra Leone by birth.”33
Similarly, in Kenya, the amended Citizenship and Immigration Act of 2011, which tracks
the 2010 Constitution, stipulates that: “A person born outside Kenya shall be a citizen by
birth if on the date of birth that person’s mother or father was or is a citizen by birth.”34
This provision replaced Section 90 of the previous Constitution, which stated that: “A
person born outside Kenya after 11th December, 1963 shall become a citizen of
Kenya at the date of his birth if at that date his father is a citizen of Kenya.”35
In Denmark, the process of reform led to equality with regard to a father’s ability to
transmit his nationality to children born out of wedlock and abroad. As of July 2014,
all children of a Danish parent (father or mother) now acquire Danish citizenship
automatically at birth.36 Similarly, the relevant provision adopted in Madagascar, in
2017,37 replaced a provision of the 1960 Madagascan Nationality Code,38 whereby
children born out of wedlock to a foreign mother and a Madagascan father were
denied automatic birthright citizenship.39
2. Spousal transfer of nationality
Article 5 of the 1961 Convention prohibits loss of nationality resulting from a change
of personal status unless the person concerned possesses or acquires another
nationality. For the purposes of Article 5, changes of personal status include events
such as marriage and termination of marriage. Article 5(1) is supplemented by Article
9(1) of CEDAW.40 According to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women, Article 9(1) of CEDAW requires Contracting States to refrain from
enacting provisions that place women at risk of statelessness after marriage. It is
not uncommon for States to have laws that tie a woman’s nationality to that of her
husband. In some States, a woman automatically loses her nationality upon marriage
to a foreign national, the presumption being that she will immediately assume her
husband’s citizenship. Women in countries where no safeguards in line with Article 5
of the 1961 Convention are in place are at risk of statelessness, because most
countries do not grant automatic citizenship to the spouses of nationals.41
33 Sierra Leone Citizenship Amendment Bill 2017, available at: http://citizenshiprightsafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Sierra-LeoneCitizenship-Amendment-Bill-2017.pdf
34 The Constitution of Kenya, 27 August 2010, available at: www.refworld.org/docid/4c8508822.html
35 The Constitution of Kenya (Revised edition (2001)(1998)), 2001, available at: www.refworld.org/docid/47162cfc2.html
36 Automatisk erhvervelse af dansk statsborgerskab, available at: http://uim.dk/arbejdsomrader/statsborgerskab/danske-statsborgere-1/
automatisk-erhvervelse-af-dansk-statsborgerskab
37 Loi n° 2016-038, Art. 9, supra.
38 Ordonnance n° 60 - 064 du 22 juillet 1960 portant Code de la nationalité malgache ( J.O. n° 111 du 23.07.60 p. 1305 ), modifiée par la
loi nº 61-052 du 13 décembre 1961 ( J.O. nº 201 du 23.12.61, p. 2260 ), la loi nº 62-005 du 6 juin 1962 J.O. nº 228 du 16.06.62, p. 1075 ),
l’ordonnance nº 73-049 du 27 août 1973 ( J.O. nº 934 E.S. du 27.08.73, p. 2713 ) et par la loi nº 95-021 du 18 septembre 1995 (J.O. nº 2341
du 01.01.96, p. 3, 13). [Madagascar], 1 January 1996, Art. 10, available at: www.refworld.org/docid/4f5473682.html.
39 UNHCR Background note on gender equality, nationality laws and statelessness 2014, supra.
40 UNHCR, Expert Meeting – Interpreting the 1961 Statelessness Convention and avoiding statelessness resulting from loss and deprivation
of nationality (Tunis conclusions), March 2014, paras 33 – 34, available at: www.refworld.org/docid/533a754b4.html.
41 CEDAW, General Recommendation No. 32, supra, para. 54.
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