A/HRC/60/42 to confer their nationality on their children who were born abroad was not retroactive, leaving many excluded. In addition, Malaysian men faced challenges passing their citizenship to children born out of wedlock. 17. Mr. Mulmi emphasized that even where laws appeared inclusive, bureaucratic and systemic discrimination often obstructed access to citizenship. Such discrimination frequently obstructed the realization of equal citizenship; for example, ethnic minorities – including border tribes in India, Vietnamese communities in Cambodia and the Hmong in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic – faced impossible documentation requirements. In Bangladesh, despite legal recognition, the Urdu-speaking minority continued to face discrimination, particularly those living in camp-like settlements. Mr. Mulmi expressed concern that many individuals remained second-class citizens, enduring ongoing discrimination even after acquiring nationality. He also traced those inequalities to colonial legacies, noting that borders drawn during colonial rule had ignored ethnic and cultural realities, and that discriminatory legal frameworks had been inherited. It was not coincidental that countries with gender-discriminatory laws – such as Malaysia and Nepal – were all former British colonies or under British legal influence. In his concluding remarks, Mr. Mulmi stressed that statelessness in the region had arisen not only from gaps in nationality laws, but also from deep-rooted discrimination based on gender, ethnicity and colonial structures. 18. Ivana Krstić, a member of the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls and a professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade, began by emphasizing that nationality was not only a legal status, but also the basis for the enjoyment of many other human rights. She noted that article 9 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women required States to grant women equal rights with men in acquiring, changing or retaining their nationality and with respect to the nationality of their children. She also referenced article 2 (f) of the Convention, which required States to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that constituted discrimination against women. She expressed concern that despite those international standards, discrimination against women and girls in nationality laws and practices persisted in many parts of the world. 19. Ms. Krstić explained that discrimination stemmed not only from legal provisions but also from structural and procedural barriers. Discrimination often related to unequal transmission of nationality to children and spouses and loss of nationality upon marriage or divorce, and dependent nationality regimes that linked a woman’s nationality to that of her husband. Women and girls might face discriminatory administrative and procedural practices, including excessive documentation requirements, biased guardianship laws and corruption. Displaced, stateless or refugee women were particularly vulnerable, as they frequently lacked access to civil registration. Women from low-income or rural communities were often unable to cover travel costs or administrative fees to obtain civil registration and identity documents. Barriers such as low literacy, lack of legal aid and language constraints further hindered access. As a result, the most marginalized women faced heightened risks of statelessness and legal invisibility. The Working Group had documented the serious, long-term human rights consequences of such exclusion, including the risk of early marriage, sexual exploitation and lack of access to healthcare, property rights and justice. Discriminatory nationality laws often reinforced patriarchal structures by only allowing men to confer nationality on spouses and children, undermining women’s legal status and public participation. The Working Group had continued to advocate for gender-sensitive, inclusive legal reforms, stressing the need for universal civil registration, gender-responsive statelessness procedures and the collection of disaggregated data. Ms. Krstić concluded by stressing that the voices and lived experiences of stateless and vulnerable women and girls must be at the centre of reforms. 20. Following the panel presentations, the floor was opened for questions and statements. A representative from the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva raised concerns about the potential abuse of dual nationality, such as through marriages of convenience. A representative from the International Commission of Jurists underscored the importance of the 2020 Principles on Deprivation of Nationality as a National Security Measure, which had been developed on the GE.25-10379 5