CSW70 Side Event | GCENR

CSW70 High-Level Side Event "Equal Nationality Rights for Equal Citizens"

10:00-11:15 AM on March 10, 2026
Conference Room 2 in the United Nations

Speakers

  • Adlyn Teoh, President, Family Frontiers
  • Esther Eghobamien-Mshelia, Member, UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
  • Catherine Harrington, Manager, Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights
  • Danai Gurira, Award Winning Playwright and Actor, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador
  • Hon. Gbeme Horace-Kollie, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Republic of Liberia
  • Giovanni Bassu, UNHCR Deputy Director, NY Office
  • Mariam Jalabi, Co-Founder, Syrian Women Political Movement
  • Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Deputy Executive Director, UN Women

Click here register.
Registration is required for those without a UN badge by Thursday, March 5, 2026. Registrants without a UN badge must obtain a special event pass provided by the organizers in front of the UN Visitor Entrance (801 1st Avenue, at 45th Street) the morning of the event.

The event will also be streaming live on UN WebTV.

Despite significant reforms to end legal discrimination against women, today over forty-five countries maintain nationality laws that discriminate on the basis of gender. Twenty-four countries deny women the right to confer nationality on their children on an equal basis with men.

Gender discrimination in nationality laws causes wide-ranging human rights violations, is a leading cause of statelessness, and undermines women's status as equal citizens and their equality in the family. Global goals on gender equality, children's rights and wellbeing, ending statelessness, and sustainable development cannot be without gender-equal nationality laws.

Though discriminatory nationality laws were traditionally the norm across the globe, significant progress has been achieved in securing gender-equal nationality rights. Against this backdrop, the High-Level Side Event "Achieving Gender Equality in Nationality Laws" will build on momentum for reform and elevate awareness of the importance and benefits of gender-equal nationality laws. Cosponsored by the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, the Government of Liberia, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, United Kingdom, the UN Refugee Agency, UN Women, Equality Now, the Global Alliance to End Statelessness, and Women's Refugee Commission, the event will underscore why the reform of gender-discriminatory nationality laws is essential to women's equal status in society and the realization of the SDGs.

Click here to view the Concept Note