This research is ongoing. The final reports will be posted upon completion.

PROJECT OVERVIEW:

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that at least 3.5 million people are currently stateless, meaning that they are not recognized as citizens of any country. Because few governments identify or register stateless persons, UNHCR estimates the global stateless population may be as high as 10 million. Gender discrimination in nationality laws can cause statelessness by preventing women from passing on their nationality to their children on an equal basis with men. With PRM support, The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) will research the impact of gender discrimination in nationality laws and statelessness on women and their families, focusing on cases in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. ERT will develop advocacy tools to promote women’s equal right to nationality and recommend ways that affected countries can amend their laws to conform with international standards relating to women’s rights and statelessness.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

• Document the impact of gender discrimination in nationality laws on women and their families in Liberia and Nepal; and the impact of legal reform in Kenya and Indonesia;
• Analyze the role of national, regional and international advocacy in the success of reforming nationality laws to remove gender discrimination in Kenya and Indonesia and of advocacy efforts to date in Liberia and Kenya;
• Contribute print and video media to the Global Campaign to End Gender Discrimination in Nationality Laws;
• Contribute to the development of effective advocacy strategies for the reform of gender discriminatory nationality laws by sharing best practices uncovered through research with the International Coalition for the Global Campaign to End Gender Discrimination in Nationality Laws and other international and national stakeholders; and
• Review the nationality laws of Nepal and Liberia in comparison to international human rights, equality and non-discrimination standards, and propose ways in which the laws can be brought into conformity with international standards.

The research project is scheduled to conclude in spring 2015.