Global Summit on Gender Equality
in Nationality Laws
The Global Summit on Gender Equality in Nationality Laws, held on 13th June 2023, marked a unified call to action from global leaders, UN agencies, and civil society to eradicate gender-based discrimination in nationality laws. Convened by the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, UNHCR, UNICEF, and UN Women, the Summit served as a rallying point and a platform for states and other stakeholders to commit to expedited action.
Despite significant progress, twenty-four countries still retain nationality laws that deny women the right to pass their citizenship to their children on an equal basis with men. Almost fifty countries prevent women from conferring nationality on their spouse on an equal basis with men. At their core, gender-discriminatory nationality laws undermine women’s status as equal citizens and their equality in the family, and are a root cause of statelessness. At the Global Summit, leading affected activists and UN agencies drew attention to wide-ranging human rights violations caused by this discrimination, which harms affected women, their children, and societies as a whole. States including Eswatini, Iraq, and Kiribati affirmed their commitment to achieve gender equality in their nationality laws. Representatives from Indonesia, Liberia, and Morocco shared the benefits of their country’s reforms to remove gender-discriminatory nationality law provisions, while the United States and Australia highlighted the importance of gender-equal nationality rights to global goals. Throughout the Global Summit, there was a clear recognition that the elimination of gender discrimination in nationality laws is crucial to gender equality, children’s rights and protection, ending statelessness and realizing the sustainable development goals.
Speakers include:
- Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
- Hon. Phila Buthelezi, Minister of Labour & Social Security, Eswatini
- Hon. Williametta E. Saydee-Tarr, Minister of Gender, Children & Social Protection, Liberia
- H.E. Mrs. Bathsheba N. Crocker, Permanent Representative of the United States of America
- H.E. Mr. Jeff Roach, Deputy Permanent Representative of Australia
- H.E. Febrian Ruddyard, Permanent Representative of Indonesia
- Amina Bouayach, President of the National Human Right Institution Morocco
- Major General Nashat Ibraheem Shallal Al-Khafaji, Ministry of Interior, Iraq
- Maryanne Namakin, Secretary of the Ministry of Women, Youth and Social Affairs, Kiribati
- Habiba Al-Hinai, Omani Association for Human Rights
- Neha Gurung, Citizenship Affected Persons Network, Nepal
- Catherine Harrington, Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights
- Adriana Quiñones, UN Women Head, Human Rights and Development, Geneva
- Marc Rubin, UNICEF Deputy Regional Director, Middle East and North Africa
- Gaithiri Siva, Impacted Mothers Network, Family Frontiers
Moderator: Yvonne Ndege
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Media Coverage : The ‘sexist’ nationality laws that leave children stateless
