HARVARD  HUMAN  RIGHTS  JOURNAL  ONLINE          JANUARY  2015   Why  Non-­‐‑Marital  Children  in  the  MENA  Region  Face  a  Risk  of  Statelessness   Betsy  Fisher1     Abstract   International   law   guarantees   each   individual   the   right   to   a   nationality.   However,   this  right  is  not  always  realized  in  reality,  and  the  Middle  East  is  home  to  several  of   the   world’s   chronic   stateless   populations.   Problematic   laws   and   policies   in   the   region  also  result  in  new  cases  of  individual  statelessness.  This  article  argues  that  a   combination   of   gender   discriminatory   nationality   laws,   civil   registration   requirements,  criminal  penalties  for  adultery,  and  societal  attitudes  prevent  or  deter   unwed  parents  from  registering  their  children’s  births  or  transmitting  nationality  to   their   children.   Reforming   laws   that   discriminate   on   the   basis   of   nationality   will   do   much  to  end  statelessness  in  the  Middle  East,  but  cannot  eradicate  statelessness  until   unwed   parents   and   their   children   are   no   longer   threatened   with   violence   and   rejection.     Introduction       In  2013,  an  unmarried  couple  in  Dubai  was  accused  of  gross  child  abuse  for   keeping   their   eight-­‐‑year-­‐‑old   daughter   from   enrolling   in   school   or   receiving   healthcare   and   immunizations.   However,   the   couple   denied   that   they   intended   to   harm  the  child.  Rather,  they  claimed  that  they  were  forced  to  keep  the  child  at  home   because  if  the  child  was  discovered,  they  would  both  be  sent  to  jail  for  having  a  child   out  of  wedlock.2    Arguably,  these  parents  were  more  responsible  than  the  dozens  of   unwed   parents   in   the   United   Arab   Emirates   (UAE)   who   have   simply   abandoned   newborn   infants   rather   than   face   criminal   penalties   for   bearing   children   out   of   wedlock.3   Laws   that   penalize   adultery   and   discriminate   against   non-­‐‑marital                                                                                                                            Betsy  Fisher,  J.D.  and  M.A.  Middle  Eastern  and  North  African  Studies,  University  of  Michigan,  is  a   Bates  Fellow  on  behalf  of  the  Iraqi  Refugee  Assistance  Project.  This  article  is  informed  by  the  author’s   time  while  a  Michigan  Fellow  in  the  Program  in  Refugee  and  Asylum  Law  in  UNHCR’s  Amman,   Jordan  Regional  Office.  This  article  reflects  the  author’s  views  alone.  I  wish  to  thank  Amit  Sen,  Ana   Pollard,  Yousef  Daradkeh,  and  Prof.  James  Hathaway.   2  Bassam  Za’Za,  Unmarried  Dubai  Couple  Deny  Endangering  Life  of  Illegitimate  Child,  GULF  NEWS  (May  8,   2013),  http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/courts/unmarried-­‐‑dubai-­‐‑couple-­‐‑deny-­‐‑endangering-­‐‑life-­‐‑of-­‐‑ illegitimate-­‐‑child-­‐‑1.1180462,  archived  at  http://perma.cc/SVM6-­‐‑G2MT.   3  Solution  Needed  to  Baby  Abandonment  in  the  UAE,  THE  NATIONAL  (Jan.  13,  2014),     http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/editorial/solution-­‐‑needed-­‐‑to-­‐‑baby-­‐‑abandonment-­‐‑ in-­‐‑the-­‐‑uae,    archived  at  http://perma.cc/YN2V-­‐‑B4UH.   1 1       Electronic copy copy available available at: Electronic at:https://ssrn.com/abstract=2547550 http://ssrn.com/abstract=2547550