CYIL vol. 15 (2024)

VERONIKA D’EVEREUX responsible to oversee the conduct of the states in relation to this convention is the Committee on the Rights of the Child. States are responsible to report their domestic implementation of this convention in accordance with Article 44. The Committee is entitled based on Article 45 to make general suggestions and recommendations, however the possibility of enforcing these measures is missing . 42 In the author’s opinion, there is a higher chance of changing the practise and the domestic laws of the states in this regard which did not declare a reservation in regard to Islamic law and/or sharia. While the country’s tradition, customs, and cultural values and the approach to the illegitimate children might likely change in the 21 st century, religious laws might still require or prioritise the children to be born into wedlock enclosed only by a man and woman. Unless the contracting state withdraws from using Islamic laws and/or sharia in their domestic legal system, it might be rather difficult to ensure the right to citizenship to every single child, regardless of the background and legal situation of the parents. The motivation of states to change their domestic practice and the campaign by the UNHCR can contribute, in addition to the Commission’s activities, to securing the fulfilment of the relevant obligations stemming from the international law by the states concerned. 3.2 Assessment based on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women The practise of some states not granting mothers equal rights like the fathers in regard to conferring nationality also has a direct impact on the obligation of states stemming from the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. In accordance with the UNHCR report from 2022, there were reported about 25 states all around the world which do not grant mothers equal rights as fathers to confer the nationality on their children. 43 The gender inequality in domestic laws can result into statelessness in case the child cannot acquire the nationality of the home country of the father. This might occur in a case where the father is stateless ; the laws of the father’s country do not permit conferral of citizenship in certain circumstances, e.g., when the child was born abroad ; when the father is unknown or not married to the woman at the time of the birth; the father is unable to take the administrative steps to confer his nationality or acquire the proof of nationality for his child, e.g., because the father died, was forcibly separated from his family; when the father is unwilling to fulfil the necessary steps so the child can acquire the nationality of his state, e.g., because the father abandoned the family . The UNHCR report distinguished three categories of the states concerned. 44 States, whose domestic laws do not allow mothers to confer their nationality on their children with no, or very limited exceptions. These states are Brunei Darussalam, Eswatini, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, and Somalia (states in the red category). States, where the domestic laws of which allow women to confer nationality in some circumstances, e.g., they can make exceptions for mothers to confer nationality if the father is unknown or stateless. Some states established a discretionary procedure for conferral of nationality upon application. 42 cf. MEZMUR, B. D. Making their day count: The 1961 Convention on Reduction of Statelessness and the Convention on Rights of the Child. In: Statelessness & Citizenship Review , vol. 4, no. 1, 2022, pp. 198–203. 43 UNHCR. Background note on gender equality, nationality laws and statelessness 2022. [online] [accessed on 19 May 2024] Available at: https://tinyurl.com/yhmyrk3y. 44 Ibidem.

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