On the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8 March, UNHCR published the 2019 version of the Background Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness. There remain 25 countries where women cannot confer their nationality to their children on an equal basis with men. To strengthen advocacy efforts, the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights prepared a video explaining why gender discrimination in nationality laws is harmful and can lead to statelessness, pointing to the need for law reform. From 4 to 8 February, the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness organized its inaugural statelessness intensive course at the University of Melbourne, Australia. The course brought together more than 30 participants from 12 different countries, representing universities, government departments, NGOs, law firms and human rights organizations. The program also involved UNHCR representatives, international legal scholars and statelessness practitioners from around the world. On 13 March, during the 40th Session of the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues held an interactive dialogue with States, UN agencies and NGOs to discuss the recommendations from the eleventh session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues which was focused on the theme ‘Statelessness: a minority issue’. Issues around statelessness and the right to nationality featured prominently in this dialogue, and many participants noted the importance of the #IBelong Campaign. Participants at the inaugural statelessness intensive course organized by the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness © Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness 2

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