[Documents/Docheader.htm]Nationality rights and equal opportunities
Recommendation 1654 (2004)Doc. 10295
2 October 2004Reply from the Committee of Ministers
adopted at the 896th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (22 September 2004)
1. The Committee of Ministers has carefully studied Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1654 (2004) on nationality rights and equal opportunities and has brought it to the attention of the governments of its member states and the Steering Committee for Equality between Women and Men (CDEG).
2. It shares the Assembly’s view that it is essential to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women in each country’s domestic legislation on nationality.
3. In this context, the Committee of Ministers draws attention to the European Convention on Nationality (ETS No. 166), adopted in the framework of the Council of Europe in 1997, which contains a specific provision prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of sex (Article 5, paragraph 1). It encourages those member states not yet Party to this Convention, which entered into force on 1 March 2000, to sign and/or ratify it. The United Nations Convention on all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) also contains a specific provision establishing equal rights for women to acquire, change or retain their nationality (Article 9).
4. The Committee of Ministers would also like to make particular reference to the work of the Committee of Experts on Nationality (CJ-NA), to which it has forwarded the Recommendation for information. This Committee is instructed to monitor developments in nationality issues, in particular in the Council of Europe member states, and to put forward proposals to help solve the practical and legal problems encountered by states in its field of competence. It publishes the “European Bulletin on Nationality”, designed to enable those interested in nationality issues to gain a better understanding of legislation in this field in Europe and in the non-European countries which contribute to the work of the CJ-NA.
5. In these circumstances, the Committee of Ministers believes that before initiating a new comparative study on this subject, as advocated by the Assembly in paragraph 7.i. of its Recommendation, it would be preferable to exploit to the full the work currently in progress, particularly that of the CJ-NA in assessing the conditions applied by states in connection with the acquisition and loss of nationality. This work is carried out in line with the report on this issue adopted by the CJ-NA in 2002 and will also take account of the results of the 3rd European Conference on Nationality, to be held on 11-12 October 2004, on the theme of “Nationality and the Child”.
6. The Committee of Ministers would like to reassure the Assembly that the CJ-NA will pay particular attention to the issues raised by the Assembly, notably concerning non-discrimination on the grounds of sex in the legislation on nationality, and to their implementation in member states.