Gender discriminatory laws violate Sudan’s international obligations 9. Despite Sudan’s international obligations, it is one of 27 countries around the world that continues to discriminate against women in their ability to confer their nationality on their children on an equal basis with men.1 Gender discrimination in nationality laws contravenes Article 9(2) of the CEDAW and can lead to statelessness when fathers are stateless or also unable to confer their nationality on their children. 10. Sudan is also one of over 60 countries that denies women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality, and to confer nationality on their non-national spouses, in contravention of Article 9(1) of CEDAW. 11. While Sudan is not party to CEDAW, gender discrimination in its citizenship law undermines the child’s right to a nationality and can result in statelessness of children whose mothers have faced discrimination. Thus, the prevailing legal framework in Sudan falls short of its obligations under Article’s 7 and 8 CRC. Article 7 CRC obligates the state to register the child immediately after birth and bestows on the child the right, from birth, to a name and nationality. States are obligated to implement these rights, “in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless.” Article 8 CRC obligates states to respect the child’s right to an identity “including nationality, name and family relations”. 12. The Sudanese Nationality Act of 1994 states that children can only acquire citizenship from their Sudanese mothers through an application process to acquire Sudanese citizenship by descent, whereas all children of Sudanese fathers acquire Sudanese citizenship automatically. The Nationality Certificate Regulations of 2005 specify that to apply for citizenship, a Sudanese mother must provide the consent of the child's father and marriage certificate, if the father is still alive and married to the mother, or the Court order granting the mother custody of the child where the relationship is not ongoing, and the death certificate of the father where the father has died. The Nationality Act also grants Sudanese men the right to confer their nationality on foreign spouses, while denying Sudanese women this right. 13. While the Constitution of Sudan states that “every person born to a Sudanese mother or father shall have an inalienable right to enjoy Sudanese nationality and citizenship,” administrative authorities generally apply the more specific and practice-oriented Nationality Act, which discriminates against women. 1 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Background Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness 2015, 6 March 2015, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/54f8369b4.html.