(jus sanguinis), birth certificates provide evidence of who the child’s parents are. Where citizenship is acquired on grounds of birth in the territory (jus soli), birth certificates prove the birthplace. 1.3 Links between lack of birth registration and risk of statelessness Individuals may be at risk of statelessness if they cannot prove that they have links to a State. The lack of birth registration and documents certifying birth can create such a risk. On its own, lack of birth registration does not usually mean that a person is stateless or even at risk of statelessness. However, possession of a birth certificate helps to establish entitlement to nationality and is often a prerequisite for obtaining documentation that proves nationality. In some countries a birth certificate alone is regarded as proof of nationality, particularly where nationality is acquired automatically based on birth in the territory. At the same time, many countries only issue national ID cards at the age of majority. Where this is the case, birth certificates often serve as a temporary proof of nationality when children need to take final exams, graduate, or access healthcare. Some population groups are at particular risk of statelessness because their situation makes it difficult for them to register births or obtain related documents. They include nomadic and border populations, minorities, refugees, IDPs, and migrants. Abandoned, orphaned, unaccompanied or separated children are especially vulnerable and often lack any documents establishing their identity. In the absence of birth registration documents, persons living in border areas and nomadic populations who cross international borders may find it difficult to establish their entitlements as nationals in either of the States in which they live. Migrants in an irregular situation may be unwilling to approach the authorities to register their children for fear of being identified or deported. Minorities are often denied equal access to rights and services, including access to documentation. Refugees and IDPs can be at risk of statelessness when their documents have been lost, left behind or destroyed during flight. The destruction of State archives and civil registries can also make it difficult to confirm their identity, and they may find it difficult to access civil registration in the countries in which they have found safety. Section 4 of this paper discusses in more detail how lack of birth documentation puts different population groups at risk of statelessness and how that risk can be mitigated. MISCONCEPTION ABOUT THE LINK BETWEEN REGISTERING BIRTH AND ACQUIRING NATIONALITY The misconception that registering a child’s birth confirms nationality can put vulnerable children at additional risk. Birth registration is the permanent recording of a child’s existence and does not confer nationality. Nationality is acquired through the operation of a State’s nationality law. The two processes are distinct. Nonetheless, birth registration helps to prevent statelessness because it establishes a legal record as to where a child was born and who his/her parents are, elements of information key to proving entitlement to nationality. Children whose births are not registered and who lack proof of their age are more vulnerable to marginalization, discrimination, abuse, and associated protection risks such as child marriage, child labour, forced recruitment, and trafficking. Birth registration also helps to prove a child’s entitlement to access the juvenile justice and immigration systems. 3 CAMPAIGN TO END STATELESSNESS WITHIN 10 YE ARS