The issue of gender discrimination in nationality laws has also received significant attention in recent years as part of the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which involves a regular review of the human rights record of all 193 UN Member States. From 2008 to 2020, at least 51 recommendations were made concerning the removal of gender discriminatory provisions in the nationality laws of 18 States.11 Of these, 10 recommendations were ‘supported’ by the State concerned, 39 were ‘noted’ and 2 remain thus far without a response. The States supporting the recommendations made to them include Barbados, Brunei Darussalam, Burundi, Malaysia, Nepal, Sierra Leone and Tunisia. Of these States, Sierra Leone and Tunisia have removed gender discriminatory provisions in their nationality laws in the time since the relevant UPR recommendations were made. The #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness UNHCR’s #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness in 10 years, launched in November 2014, envisages the achievement of gender equality in all nationality laws by the year 2024 as part of the Campaign’s broader goals. A practical strategy through which this can be achieved is set out in Action 3 of the Global Action Plan. The objective of achieving gender equality in nationality laws is also supported by Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals.12 UNHCR continues its work with a range of governments and civil society groups to promote reform to nationality laws and assist in their implementation. In 2017, Madagascar and Sierra Leone became the first countries since the launch of the #IBelong Campaign to reform their nationality laws to allow mothers to confer their nationality to their children on an equal basis as men. In 2017, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) partially reformed its law to allow Emirati women married to foreigners to confer their nationality to their children aged six years and above, subject to a number of conditions. This adds to the existing circumstances in which Emirati women can confer their nationality, for example where children are born in the UAE and their fathers are unknown, stateless or where the paternal relationship has not been substantiated. 11 The number of recommendations is based on an analysis of relevant recommendations in the UPR Info database https://upr-info-database.uwazi.io/. The identified recommendations are tagged as relating to the issue ‘Statelessness and the right to nationality’ and contain language on the removal of gender discrimination in nationality laws. This number may not include all relevant recommendations to the extent they are labelled differently. 12 UNHCR, The Sustainable Development Goals and Addressing Statelessness, March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58b6e3364.html U N H C R > B A C K G R O U N D N O T E O N G E N D E R E Q U A L I T Y, N AT I O N A L I T Y L A W S A N D S TAT E L E S S N E S S 2 0 2 1 5