Manila, Philippines | 18-19 November 2011 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW ) Article 9 provides “1. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality. They shall ensure in particular that neither marriage to an alien nor change of nationality by the husband during marriage shall automatically change the nationality of the wife, render her stateless or force upon her the nationality of the husband. 2. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children.” improved registration, Thailand has established a database that connects the hospital to civil registration office to ensure that newborn babies born in hospital are registered in the civil registration system. The delegate from Indonesia explained how his country reformed its nationality law with the aim of preventing statelessness, particularly among children. Three improvements were made in 2006. The first amended the provision that stipulated that the nationality of Indonesians who lived abroad for more than 5 years would be withdrawn if no declaration was made indicating that the wish to retain their nationality. The old law created many stateless persons. The new law no longer requires such a declaration if a person would become stateless as a result of losing his or her Indonesian nationality, closing this gap. The second reform permitted children to retain dualcitizenship until they reach an age of adulthood. This policy ensures that children of mixed marriages who qualify for the nationality of both parents can defer the choice of nationality until they reach adulthood. It prevents statelessness among children, whose parents do not agree on the nationality the child should hold. Ario Priojati (pictured left), Division Head of political party registration, Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, shared at the Workshop Indonesia's laws on nationality and measures in place to prevent statelessness among Indonesians residing overseas. © UNHCR/B. Abante 13 