Grant of Nationality to Otherwise Stateless Persons Born to Nationals of Contracting States Abroad (1961 Convention, Articles 1(4), 1(5) and 4) 35. Article 1 of the 1961 Convention places primary responsibility on Contracting States in whose territory otherwise stateless children are born to grant them nationality to prevent statelessness. The Convention also sets out two subsidiary rules. The first is found in Article 1(4) and applies where an otherwise stateless child is born in a Contracting State to parents of another Contracting State but does not acquire the nationality of the country of birth automatically and either misses the age to apply for nationality or cannot meet the habitual residence requirement. In such cases, responsibility falls to the Contracting State of which the parents of the individual concerned are citizens to grant its nationality to that individual. In these limited circumstances where Contracting States must grant nationality to children born abroad in another Contracting State to one of their nationals, States may require that an individual lodge an application and meet certain criteria set forth in Article 1(5) that are similar to those set forth in Article 1(2), with some distinctions. 36. The second subsidiary rule applies where children of a national of a Contracting State who would otherwise be stateless are born in a nonContracting State. This rule is set out in Article 4. Although granting nationality in these circumstances is obligatory, Article 4 gives Contracting States the option of either granting their nationality to children of their nationals born abroad automatically at birth or requiring an application subject to the exhaustive conditions listed in Article 4(2). 37. Like Article 1, Article 4 of the 1961 Convention must be read in light of subsequent developments in international human rights law. The right of every child to acquire a nationality, as set out in CRC Article 7 and the principle of the best interests of the child contained in CRC Article 3, create a strong presumption that Contracting States should provide for automatic acquisition of their nationality at birth to an otherwise stateless child born abroad to one of its nationals. In cases where Contracting States require an application procedure, international human rights law, in particular the CRC, obliges States to accept such applications as soon as possible after birth. Implicit Obligations in Articles 1 and 4 of the 1961 Convention Appropriate information 38. Contracting States that opt for an application procedure are obliged to provide, as soon as possible, detailed information to parents of otherwise stateless children about the possibility of acquiring the nationality of the country. 39. Information needs to be provided to concerned individuals whose children born in the territory of a Contracting State are otherwise stateless or of undetermined nationality. A general information campaign is not sufficient. 10