Identity Rights Working Group* meets with CEDAW Committee
The Identity Rights Working Group has the privilege of meeting with the CEDAW Committee to coordinate efforts, recognizing that eliminating discrimination against women is essential to advancing every child’s right to birth registration and nationality. The group highlighted how systemic and gender-based inequalities in civil registration laws and practices, particularly against women, continues to drive statelessness and exclusion. Children born in contexts of conflict, displacement, or sexual violence face increased risks of incomplete identity or one that is not recognised in cross-border settings. Ensuring universal civil registration not only protects children’s right to legal identity but also helps prevent child marriage. Discrimination linked to women’s civil status or conditions remains a major obstacle. The group called for strengthened guidance from the Committee, alongside legal and operational reforms. Multiple country examples were provided to showcase promising practices to respond the legal and practical challenges for ensuring every child has a legal Identity.
Identity Rights Working Group strongly believes that the Committee’s engagement could serve as a springboard to uphold identity rights and meet SDG 16.9.
Speakers during the CEDAW Committee briefing
- Bhaskar Mishra from UNICEF on gender discrimination in birth registration laws
- See the video
- See the transcript in English, French and Spanish
- Marcella Roweler from UNHCR on gender discrimination that can result in statelessness
- Neha Gurung from Citizenship Affected Network on how gender discrimination can create challenges in access education
- Karin Heissler from UNICEF WCARO on preventing child marriage through birth and marriage registration
- See the video Passcode: hv*3w8p7
- See the transcript in English, French and Spanish
- Danae Ponthoz from Global Survivors Fund on children born through sexual violence
*Members of Identity Rights Working Group who supported initiative– ATD Fourth World, Child Identity Protection, Citizenship Affected Peoples Network, Global Survivors Fund, Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, ORIGINES, UNHCR The UN Refugee Agency, UNICEF, Voice of Children
See the briefing note in
- 03 July 2025
