Eliyeh Delavari validity period141. They base their argument on the current situation of Iranians who have either naturalised as citizens of another country or those Iranians who, in accordance with Article 976 (2) are born abroad to Iranian fathers, and in accordance with the law of the country in which they are born, they are also considered as citizens of those countries. Another case that supports their argument is the situation of a foreign woman who is automatically granted Iranian nationality once she is married to an Iranian man, whether it is requested or not142. In 2008, the Judiciary Legal Department in an advisory opinion stated that “As long as the Iranians in question do not request the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to renounce their citizenship they will remain Iranian citizens and the mere acquisition of Canadian citizenship alone does not preclude the implementation of Iranian law on its citizens.” In another advisory opinion, in 2017, the same Department stated that “renunciation of citizenship in order to acquire another citizenship mentioned in the Civil Code, are different from having dual citizenship. Therefore, the rules on renunciation of nationality for those Iranians who have acquired the citizenship of another country cannot be extended to dual nationals who have acquired the citizenship of another country while retaining their original citizenship, and thus have dual citizenship. Therefore, they cannot be deprived of their rights as citizens.”143 7. Conclusion From the examination of Iranian nationality law, it appears that there are still provisions that need to be amended in order to bring the law in line with international standards as well as social necessities. The most important remaining gap in the law is the issue of gender discrimination. This is particularly of great importance as Iran is a party to certain conventions that prohibit discrimination on the ground of gender such as the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child 144 (Article 2(1&2)), the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 145 (Article 26), the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights146 (Article 2(2)) and the 1979 Convention of the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Article 5). Furthermore, Iran is a signatory to the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam which prohibits gender discrimination under Article 6(a) &19(a). Although the Iranian government has attempted to address the issue of gender discrimination, certain gaps still persist which can lead to cases of statelessness. The 2019 Amendment, while a positive step in the right direction for women’s and children’s rights, is still considered inadequate as it continues to place children of those Iranian women who are 141 ١٣٨۶، ۶۵‫ص‬، ‫ ﻧﺟﺎد ﻋﻠﯽ اﻟﻣﺎﺳﯽﺣﻘوق ﺑﯾن‬، ‫اﻟﻣﻠل ﺧﺻوﺻﻲ‬. (Nejad Ali Almasi, International Private Law, 2007, pages 240-242). 142 The United States Office of Personnel Management Investigations Service, Citizenship laws of the world, 2001, page 97, available at: http://www.parstimes.com/law/citizenship_laws_of_the_world.pdf. 143 Bahman Keshavarz, Dual Citizenship in the Law of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2016, available at: https://www.zeitoons.com/24721. 144 UN General Assembly, Convention on the Rights of the Child, 20 November 1989, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, p. 3. 145 UN General Assembly, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 16 December 1966, United Nations Treaty Series, vol. 999, page. 171. 146 UN General Assembly, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 16 December 1966, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 993, p. 3. 22 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/13- © 2020 Author(s)