A/HRC/RES/20/4
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
16 July 2012
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Twentieth session
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
20/4.
The right to a nationality: women and children
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the purposes, principles and provisions of the Charter of the United
Nations,
Guided also by article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, according
to which everyone has the right to a nationality and no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of
his or her nationality, and article 2 of the same Declaration, according to which everyone is
entitled to the rights and freedoms set forth in the Declaration, without distinction of any
kind, including on the basis of sex,
Bearing in mind the challenges still faced by all countries throughout the world to
overcome inequality between men and women,
Acknowledging that the right to a nationality is a universal human right and that no
one may be arbitrarily denied or deprived of a nationality, including on discriminatory
grounds such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or
social origin, property, birth, disability or other status,
Noting the provisions of international and regional human rights instruments
recognizing the right of every child to acquire a nationality and not be arbitrarily deprived
of his or her nationality, inter alia, article 24, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, articles 7 and 8 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and
article 29 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of Their Families, and recognizing the equal right to nationality,
including article 9 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women, article 18 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and
GE.12-15304
The resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of
the Council on its twentieth session (A/HRC/20/2), chap. I.