Bücken and de Groot 43 30 23 15 8 0 Enters into 1976 - 1980 1981 - 1985 1986 - 1990 1991 - 1995 1996 - 2000 2001 - 2005 2006 - 2010 2011 - 2015 2016 - 2020 force in 1975 Accessions to the 1961 Convention Declarations under Article 8 (3) Figure 1. Accessions to the 1961 convention and declarations under article 8 (3) 62.50 50.00 37.50 25.00 12.50 0.00 Enters into 1976 - 1980 1981 - 1985 1986 - 1990 1991 - 1995 1996 - 2000 2001 - 2005 2006 - 2010 2011 - 2015 2016 - 2020 force in 1975 % of Article 8 (3) Declarations compared to total amount of ratifications Figure 2. The proportional relationship of Article 8 (3) declarations to the total amount of ratifications From the moment of entry into force in 1975, when 50% of the State Parties had submitted declarations under Article 8(3), the share of State Parties with a declaration under Article 8(3) attached to their ratification decreased by 17.6% in 1995, by 15.4% in the year 2015 and by 14.3% in 2017. Two main conclusions can be drawn from the described development. First, the fact that the initial share of State Parties at the time of entry into force was very high but then quickly declined in the following years, can lead to the interpretation that the exception of Article 8(3) constituted a special interest clause for a limited number of states. The concerned States were strongly involved in the drafting process of the Convention and were subsequently amongst the first to ratify the 1961 Convention. This observation is confirmed by the travaux pre´paratoires of the Convention.24 However, the subsequent decline of the use of Article 8(3) demonstrates that the 24. See especially, UNHCR, ‘Additional observations by Governments on Deprivation of Nationality A/CONF.9/10/Add.1 to 3’, UNHCR (1961), http://legal.un.org/docs/?path¼./diplomaticconferences/1959_statelessness/docs/english/vol_1/ a_conf9_10_add1_3.pdf&lang¼E and UNHCR, ‘Note by the Secretary-General with annex containing observations