The Bahamas could be first to reform nationality law since launch of Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights
New York - The Bahamas Minister of Social Service and
Community Development Melanie Griffin strongly stated that the
government is “committed to achieving full equality in our Constitution
for men and women,” specifically gender equal nationality
laws. Minister Griffin made these statements at the March 10 High Level
Event on Equal Nationality Rights, which took place during the first
week of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at UN headquarters
in New York. During this annual two week session,
UN Member States, civil society organizations and UN entities gather to
review progress made on achieving gender equality. This year’s CSW gave
special attention to countries’ progress on the Beijing Platform for
Action, in which governments across the globe
committed to eradicating gender discrimination from all laws.
This High Level Event included statements by
Cabinet Ministers from Algeria, Australia, Indonesia, Portugal, the
United States, and Tunisia, all of whom stressed the importance of
governments meeting their international commitments to ensure
equal nationality rights for women. Algeria and Indonesia also shared
their recent paths to reform, with both countries now granting women and
men full equality in their nationality laws.
Minister Griffin’s statement included a commitment to a robust public education campaign by the Constitutional Commission.
The public education campaign will be followed by a public referendum
to amend the Constitution of The Bahamas to enshrine equal nationality
rights for women and men and make it unlawful to discriminate against a
person on the basis of sex.
Minister Griffin affirmed, “
We are committed to
the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms
and to meeting our international human rights obligations.”
This public commitment to fully support the reform
process is welcomed by the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights –
an international initiative launched by a global network of NGOs,
UNHCR, and UN Women to end gender discrimination
in nationality laws worldwide.
“The Global Campaign is very pleased that the
government of The Bahamas is committed to the public education and
outreach needed to ensure support for these key reforms for gender
equality. We know that through a strong public education
campaign by the government, the people of The Bahamas will support this
important step to achieve full equality for all citizens of the
Commonwealth. Reform in The Bahamas would be a significant step towards
ending gender discriminatory nationality laws worldwide,
and could result in the eradication of gender discriminatory
nationality laws in the Western Hemisphere.” - Catherine Harrington, Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights Campaign Manager
With strong support by both the ruling and
opposition party, The Bahamas is poised to be the first country to enact
reforms for women’s equal nationality rights since the launch of the
Global Campaign.
The Bahamas remains one of two countries in the Western Hemisphere
that denies women equal rights to pass nationality to their children,
and one of three countries in the Western Hemisphere to deny women equal
rights to pass nationality to foreign spouses.
Importantly, reforms in The Bahamas could lead to the eradication in
the Western Hemisphere of laws denying women equal rights to pass
nationality to children. Barbados, which also denies women equal
nationality rights in its Constitution, previously committed
to reforms and reaffirmed its commitment to gender equal nationality
laws at the March 10 event.
Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights
New York, March 17, 2015
Key Amendments to Bahamas Constitution Being Considered to Ensure Protection of Women's Human Rights
