17. Owing to the very nature of refugee status, refugee parents cannot contact their consular authorities to register their children born abroad to acquire or confirm nationality. While refugees recognised under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (Refugee Convention) or the extended refugee definition who formally possess a nationality are viewed as de facto stateless persons,6 most refugees are not stateless as per the definition in Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention. Given the fact that the Final Act of the 1961 Convention contains a non-binding recommendation that de facto stateless persons should be treated as stateless persons as far as possible, treatment of children born to refugees presents practical difficulties. In particular, refugee parents are in principle not in a position to register the birth of a child with the State of origin’s consular representatives nor to approach the relevant authorities to obtain recognition or documentation of that child’s nationality. 18. States are encouraged to offer refugee children the possibility to acquire the nationality of the country of birth as foreseen under Article 1(1) of the 1961 Convention. Where the child of a refugee is born stateless, the safeguard in Article 1 will apply and the considerations relating to otherwise stateless children discussed during the Expert Meeting are relevant. However, where the child of a refugee has acquired the nationality of the country of origin of the parents at birth, it is not desirable to provide for an automatic grant of nationality under Article 1(1) of the 1961 Convention at birth, especially in cases where dual nationality is not allowed in one or both States. Refugee children and their parents should be given the possibility to decide for themselves, whether or not these children acquire the nationality of the country of birth, taking into account any plans they may have for future durable solutions (e.g. an imminent voluntary repatriation to the country of origin). Grant of Nationality to Otherwise Stateless Children Born in the Territory of a Contracting State (1961 Convention, Articles 1(1)-1(2)) Relation of Articles 1 and 4 19. The 1961 Convention and relevant universal and regional human rights norms do not dictate the basic rules according to which nationality is acquired and withdrawn by States. The Convention does not require States to adopt a pure jus soli regime whereby States grant nationality to all children born in their territory. Similarly, it does not require adoption of the principle of jus sanguinis. Rather, the 1961 Convention requires that in instances where an 6 Although the concept of de facto statelessness is not defined in international law, the first expert meeting in this series examined this concept in detail and concluded on the following operational definition for the term: “De facto stateless persons are persons outside the country of their nationality who are unable or, for valid reasons, are unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that country. Protection in this sense refers to the right of diplomatic protection exercised by a State of nationality in order to remedy an internationally wrongful act against one of its nationals, as well as diplomatic and consular protection and assistance generally, including in relation to return to the State of nationality.” Summary Conclusions of the Expert Meeting on the Concept of Stateless Persons under International Law (UNHCR 2010). 6