Convention on the Nationality of Women was the first international treaty ever adopted concerning

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

. It was adopted in 1933 by the

Pan American Union The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Uruguay. It was ratified by delegates from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, United States of America, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Reservations subject to legislative reform of domestic laws were made by the delegates from El Salvador, Honduras, and the United States. At the Hague Codification Conference in 1930, the issue of discriminatory nationality laws was raised. In many countries, women lost their nationality upon marriage and had no control over their own assets or children. After a multi-year study completed by the

Inter-American Commission of Women The Inter-American Commission of Women ( es, Comisión Interamericana de Mujeres, pt, Comissão Interamericana de Mulheres, french: Commission interaméricaine des femmes), abbreviated CIM, is an organization that falls within the Organization of ...

Doris Stevens Doris Stevens (born Dora Caroline Stevens, October 26, 1888 – March 22, 1963) was an American suffragist, woman's legal rights advocate and author. She was the first female member of the American Institute of International Law and first chai ...

presented their findings showing the disparity of laws governing citizenship between men and women to the delegates. The Seventh International Conference of American States agreed that "There shall be no distinction based on sex as regards nationality, in their legislation or in their practice". This agreement, which effected only the status of the member states in the Americas, was the precursor to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

own study on the subject of nationality begun in 1948. The Convention on the Nationality of Married Women passed in 1957, extending nationality protection to women beyond the Americas.

References

Sources

* *{{cite book, last=Green, first=James Frederick, title=The United Nations and Human Rights, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wI58IE-n4H0C&pg=PA750, year=1956, publisher=Brookings Institution, location=Washington, D.C., id=GGKEY:2G2TCGU8RRR Family law treaties Marriage law Women's rights instruments Treaties entered into force in 1933 1933 in women's history