Foundlings Provision “A child found in the territory of State X shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be considered to have been born within the territory of parents possessing the nationality of State X.” Comments International standards encourage States to treat foundlings (children found in the territory of a country with no identifiable parents) as citizens of the country. Article 2 of the 1961 Convention provides that foundlings shall ‘in the absence of proof to the contrary, be considered to have been born within that territory of parents possessing the nationality of that State’. The 1961 Convention does not explicitly state the age when children should be considered foundlings. If the term foundling only applies to very young children, it would create a risk that older children with unknown parentage would be left without a nationality.46 It is most consistent with the best interests of the child (Article 3, CRC) and the right of all children to acquire a nationality (Article 7, CRC; Article 24, ICCPR) to grant nationality to an older child, up until the age of majority, who was found at some earlier point in time on the territory of a State, and who is of unknown origin. If a State were not to grant citizenship to a child in these circumstances, they would be left without nationality. In line with the requirement, found in Article 3 of the CRC, that the best interests of the child be the primary consideration in all actions relating to them, the model provision relating to foundlings directs States to grant nationality to all children found on their territory with unknown parentage. This would include all children up until the age of majority. Nationality may only be lost by children who acquired it in this manner if it were to be proven that the child concerned possesses the nationality of another State.47 However, in practice, such loss should be conditional on the actual confirmation that the child enjoys another nationality, rather than on speculation that they may be entitled to another nationality. 22