Virtual High-Level Side Event Achieving Gender Equality in Nationality Laws during the 75th session of the UN General Assembly

During the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, UN Member States will mark the 25th anniversary
of the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing+25) and discuss progress achieved in securing
gender equality and women’s rights. Governments will also present concrete actions and commitments
to accelerate the realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by 2030.

Despite significant reforms to end legal discrimination against women, today approximately 50 countries maintain nationality laws that discriminate on the basis of gender. 25 countries have nationality laws that deny women the right to confer nationality on their children on an equal basis with men.

Citizenship laws form the foundation of individuals’ relationship with the state and determine access to a range of fundamental human rights. At their core, nationality laws that discriminate on the basis of gender contradict the principle of the equality of all citizens and reflect the state’s position that the rights and responsibilities of citizenship are based not on one’s status as a citizen, but according to one’s gender.

Gender discrimination in nationality laws has far-reaching consequences on all aspects of family life, and is a leading cause of statelessness. Without citizenship, children and foreign spouses are often subject to a range of restrictions in their job and education opportunities; their ability to travel, open bank accounts, own or inherit property; and their full participation in society generally. Women’s inability to equally confer citizenship can put huge financial, psychological and physical strains on families, which can result in intergenerational poverty. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are significantly inhibited wherever this form of legal discrimination persists. Discriminatory nationality laws can threaten family unity, and in some cases, increase the potential for family violence. Stateless women and girls are at a higher risk of being trafficked, while girls are also at a greater risk of child, early and forced marriage.

Against this backdrop, the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights in partnership with The Governments of Australia, Eswatini, and Togo, The Commonwealth, UN Women, the UN Refugee Agency, and the UN Development Programme will hold the virtual High-Level Side Event “Achieving Gender Equality in Nationality Laws,” during the 75th UN General Assembly. The event will also emphasize the reform of gender-discriminatory nationality laws as critical to upholding gender equality, ending statelessness, and the achieving sustainable development.

Moderator: Catherine Harrington, Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights Manager
Keynote on behalf of UN Women, UNHCR, and UNDP Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Women
Panelists: Neha Gurung, Nationality and Gender Equality Activist
Hon. Pholile Shakantu, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Eswatini
Hon. Kokouvi Pius Agbetomey, Minister of Justice and Institutional Relations, Togo
Rt. Hon. Patricia Scotland QC, Commonwealth Secretary-General