Oman’s International obligations 14. Oman has international obligations to uphold the right to a nationality without discrimination and protect the rights of stateless persons on the basis of other UN and regional treaties to which it is a party. These include: a. the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Articles 2, 3, 7 and 8; b. the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Article 9; c. the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), Article 5(d)(iii)); and d. the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Article 18. e. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Article 15. f. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), Article 24 (3). 15. Oman has made reservations under several of the abovementioned UN treaties. Notably, under the CRC, Oman declares that the provisions of the CRC should be applied within the limits imposed by the material resources available, and Oman holds that the state is not committed to the contents of Article 14 of the CRC, which gives the child the right to freedom of religion until they reach the age of maturity.5 16. In respect of the CEDAW, Oman has made a number of reservations, including against the provisions of the CEDAW that are not in accordance with legislation in force in Oman. Oman made a reservation against Article 9(2), which provides that the parties to CEDAW shall recognise women’s equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children. The co-submitting organisations consider the state’s reservation to CEDAW Article 9 to be contrary to the object and purpose of the Convention. We further believe that nationality law provisions that deny women equal rights with men to confer nationality on their children and spouses, contravene the general obligation to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women which arises under CEDAW Article 2. 17. Further, Oman made a reservation in relation to CEDAW Article 16 regarding the equality of men and women and in particular subparagraphs (a), (c) and (f) regarding marriage, dissolution of marriage and adoption.6 These articles are integral to the purpose of the Convention. The CEDAW Committee has stated that reservations to article 16 of the Convention, irrespective of the reasons for which such reservations are lodged, are "incompatible with the Convention and therefore impermissible.”7 18. On 6 February 2019, Oman withdrew its previous reservation to paragraph 4 of Article 15 which provides that members to the CEDAW shall recognise women’s equal rights with regard to the movement of persons and the freedom to choose residence and domicile. 8 Importantly, women’s inability to confer nationality on children and spouses on an equal basis with men in fact impacts Omani women’s freedom to choose a residence, due to the precarious status of spouses and children who may even lack the right to reside in the state due to the law’s discrimination against women. In such circumstances, Omani women are often posed the impossible choice of family separation or leaving their homeland. 5 See: https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-11&chapter=4&clang=_en#EndDec. https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-8&chapter=4&clang=_en#EndDec. 7 https://www.unicef.org/gender/files/Lebanon-Gender-Eqaulity-Profile-2011.pdf) 8 ibid. at footnote 82 6 See: 3