WUNRN
Office of the UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights
UN REPORT ON DISCRIMINATION AGAINST
WOMEN ON NATIONALITY,
INCLUDING IMPACT ON CHILDREN
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Excerpts: Conclusions &
Recommendations
72. The right to nationality is a
fundamental right for everyone - women, men, and children - and must be
regarded as such by all States. Equal national rights are an essential
dimension of ensuring women's human rights and crucial to preventing statelessness......Constitutions
and nationality laws must therefore ensure the full enjoyment of women's equal
right to nationality and introduce safeguards to prevent statelessness. Despite
positive developments in some countries, nationality laws in many others still
discriminate against women.....Discrimination against women in
nationality-related matters is still prevalent in law and practice.
(a) Withdraw all reservations to the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women that
impede women's enjoyment of their nationality rights on the same basis as men,
in particular their reservations to Article 9. and ratify relevant
international human rights instruments including the optional protocols
providing for individual complaints.
...........................................................................................................................................
(WUNRN Insert)
CEDAW
Article 9
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.
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(i) Take all measures necessary to
ensure that all girls and boys are registered immediately after birth, without
discrimination based on sex, race, disability, social or other status.
Marriages should also be registered in a timely manner.
(j) Ensure equal access to documents
used to prove nationality, in particular passports, identity documents, and
birth and marriage certificates. Laws and practices requiring women to secure
the consent and assistance of their husband, husband's family or father in
order to obtain nationality documents should be amended, including those that
require the husband's consent to add children names to the mother's
passport......
(n) Protect women human rights
defenders involved in nationality-related campaigns and ensure effective
representation of women in all reforms to nationality law, whether at national,
regional or international level.
