Statelessness Working Paper Series No. 2017/02 renunciation of their foreign nationality. There is an implicit obligation in the 1961 Convention that once issued, assurances should not be withdrawn on grounds that conditions of naturalisation are not fulfilled, as this could result in statelessness. As an alternative to issuance of an assurance, some States provide that naturalisation is granted against a pledge by the individual to renounce his/her foreign nationality and set a fixed timeline for submitting the proof of the renunciation, which if not submitted, renders the naturalisation application null and void.65 In light of this it can be said Indian provisions on voluntary renunciation of nationality are not aligned with the international legal standards. Another consequence is that the renunciation of Indian citizenship as a parent would have a direct effect on the nationality of his/her child. Section 8(2) of the Act provides that where a person ceases to be an Indian citizen via renunciation, “every minor child of that person shall thereupon cease to be an Indian citizen.”66 There is no clarification provided on the status of the child where one parent renounces their Indian citizenship while the other does not. The lack of safeguards provided under Section 8 have the potential to create childhood statelessness which is in contravention of Article 6 of the 1961 Convention requiring states not to deprive children of their nationality until they possess or acquire another nationality, and Article 8 of CRC which requests states to preserve the identity of the child, including his/her nationality.67 2.2.6 Termination of Citizenship The Tunis Conclusions clarified the distinction between the terms ‘loss’ and ‘deprivation’ of nationality in the 1961 Convention. ‘Loss’ is used in Articles 5-7 of the Tunis Conclusions when referring to the automatic withdrawal of nationality by operation of law (ex lege); while ‘deprivation’ is used in Article 8 referring to situations where the withdrawal is initiated by the authorities of the State.68 The UN Human Rights Council has established that ‘deprivation’ in the UDHR also includes arbitrary ex lege loss of nationality.69 The Indian Citizenship Act, 1955 considers both ‘loss’ and ‘deprivation’ of nationality and addresses them in two provisions: Section 9 considers the ‘termination of citizenship’ or loss of citizenship by operation of law; while Section 10 considers the ‘deprivation of citizenship’ initiated by Governmental action. Under Section 9 of the Citizenship Act, any Indian citizen who either by naturalisation, registration or otherwise voluntarily acquires/acquired the nationality of another country, ceases to be an Indian citizen.70 The Central Government may determine the issues as to whether, when or how any Indian citizen acquires the citizenship of another country with due regard provided in Schedule III of the 65 Ibid, para 45 Section 8(2), The Citizenship Act, 1955 67 Article 8, UNGA, Convention on the Rights of the Child, 20 November 1989, United Nations, UNTS, vol. 1577, p. 3 68 UNHCR, ‘Expert meeting: Interpreting the 1961 Statelessness Convention an Avoiding Statelessness resulting from Loss and Deprivation of Nationality: Summary Conclusions.’ ("Tunis Conclusions"), November 2013, para 9 69 UN Human Rights Council, ‘Human Rights and Arbitrary Deprivation of Nationality’, A/HRC/RES/20/5, 19 December 2013, para 3 70 Section 9, The Citizenship Act, 1955 66 8