A/HRC/38/52 including: the right to a nationality and freedom from statelessness, the right to equality in the family, the ability to participate equally in public and political life, freedom of movement, access to public services and the rights to housing, health and education, among other economic, social and cultural rights. 41 34. In addition, more than 40 countries in the Middle East, North Africa and the subSaharan region, as well as in the Caribbean42 and Asia and the Pacific,43 have laws denying or implementing restrictions on married women passing their nationality to a foreign spouse on an equal basis with a married man. For example, in some States a woman loses her nationality of origin upon marrying a foreign spouse and cannot regain that nationality if the marriage ends.44 Owing to citizenship discrimination, women and their children are often left stateless, lack access to social benefits and education, and have limited access to economic opportunities, among many other consequences.45 Several countries holding discriminatory nationality laws towards women are also home to thousands of refugees who have fled armed conflict, repression, poverty and violence. These laws reinforce the vulnerability of refugee populations to statelessness and to abuse and exploitation. 35. As a result of gender-based discriminatory laws, millions of people are left without access to citizenship and are denied rights they would hold as citizens. In many cases, these gender discriminatory laws have a greater impact on people belonging to specific groups due to their origins, race, ethnicity or descent. These laws may therefore have direct or indirect racial discriminatory impacts on these groups. Indeed, the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice has found that there is an intersectional dimension to gender-based discrimination in this context that appreciably subjects “women and girls belonging to minority communities, rural and indigenous women, migrant women, refugee women and those seeking asylum, and poor women” to unequal treatment in citizenship and immigration laws. 46 At least one submission received by the Special Rapporteur highlighted the specific challenges faced by transgender non-citizens, including restrictions on these groups that do not apply to citizens, but which have an impact on transgender non-citizens’ access to employment, housing and other basic rights and that disproportionately target racial minorities. 47 36. In recent years, many States have undertaken initiatives to amend their discriminatory nationality laws, allowing women to pass their nationality to their children, and to a lesser extent to their foreign husband.48 Such reforms are commendable and should be emulated by other States. These reforms were also realizable in countries where Governments withdrew their reservations to article 9 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which provides that States shall grant women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality, and also with respect to their children’s nationality. 2. Religion 37. Contemporary manifestations of racism and xenophobia where citizenship and immigration status are implicated also point to the importance of attention to religion 49 and its regular overlap with race, ethnicity and national origin where discrimination and 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 See www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/WG/DiscriminationAgainstWomenNationality.pdf, p. 1. A/HRC/28/85, p. 119 (BHS 2/2014). Equality Now, The State We’re In: Ending Sexism in Nationality Laws, January 2016, p. 16. Available at www.equalitynow.org/sites/default/files/NationalityReport_EN.pdf. Ibid. Ibid., p. 9. See www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/WG/DiscriminationAgainstWomenNationality.pdf, p. 2. See the submission dated 16 February 2018 from Center for Research-Action on Race Relations for the present report. See Equality Now, “Nationality laws: progress”. Available at www.equalitynow.org/nationality-lawsprogress. See A/72/365, paras. 19–25. 11