ENSURING THE RIGHT TO A NATIONALITY FOR CHILDREN IN MIGRATION IN EUROPE 1 7 CHILDREN AFFECTED BY STATELESSNESS IN MIGRATION In 2017, more than 2,000 children registered as stateless applied for asylum in Europe, four times the number who applied in 2010.12 Two years earlier in 2015, this number had reached over 6,000 children. Nationality is usually acquired at birth either through the parents (jus sanguinis) or through the place of birth (jus soli). A descentbased (jus sanguinis) approach to acquisition of nationality for children at birth is strongly favoured by most States in Europe and around the world today (with the exception of the Americas region). Most children in migration will therefore automatically acquire a nationality from one or both of their parents by descent. However, some children may not be able to inherit their parents’ nationality for different reasons (including gaps or conflicts in nationality laws, practical barriers, or discrimination) and find themselves in a country where nationality is not acquired through the place of birth, leaving them stateless or at risk of statelessness. This section provides examples of children who might be particularly impacted and explains why. DEFINITIONS Stateless person A stateless person is defined in the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (Article 1(1))_ as someone “who is not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law”. This definition is part of customary international law and has been authoritatively interpreted by UNHCR as requiring “a careful analysis of how a State applies its nationality laws in an individual’s case in practice and any review/appeal decisions that may have had an impact on the individual’s status. This is a mixed question of fact and law.” It is not always a straightforward process to identify if someone is stateless or not, and there will be people who appear to have a nationality, but are actually stateless, or whose statelessness becomes apparent over a period of time. Person at risk of statelessness Someone who either is not stateless but may become so; or whose statelessness may become evident over time. Indications that a child (or their parents) may be stateless may arise at different stages in migration or international protection procedures. CHILDREN BORN EN ROUTE TO EUROPE AND UNDOCUMENTED CHILDREN Children born en route to Europe and undocumented children can face particular barriers to birth registration and acquisition of a nationality. Birth registration and certification proves where a child was born and who their parents are, which are key to establishing their nationality. Children born in transit and undocumented children in particular may come up against stringent documentation requirements for registration, weak civil registration systems in transit countries, language or geographical barriers, exclusion from essential services, or discriminatory laws or practices that make it harder for them to access birth registration and acquire a nationality, exposing them to the risk of statelessness (see Barriers to Birth Registration section).13 CHILDREN FROM COUNTRIES WITH LARGE STATELESS POPULATIONS Of the top ten countries of origin of asylum applicants in Europe in 2019, two have large historic stateless populations: Syria and Iraq.14 Syria has a large population of Palestinian refugees and stateless Kurds,15 and in Iraq the main populations affected by statelessness include Faili Kurds, Bidoon, the Dom (Roma), Palestinian refugees and stateless refugees from Syria who fled to Iraq.16 Other countries of origin such as Iran17, Myanmar18 and Kuwait19 also have significant known stateless populations. This means that some children arriving in Europe are already stateless or are born stateless if their country of birth does not have the necessary safeguards in place to ensure they acquire a nationality at birth if they cannot acquire one from their parents.