Whether the child is at risk of statelessness is one of the considerations taken into account for use of the general discretionary power under Section 3(1). In practice, the general power is exercised much more often than the ‘otherwise stateless’ provision.15 It has been used, for example, to allow children born outside the United Kingdom to surrogate mothers commissioned by British parents (children who would not otherwise have British citizenship) to be registered as British citizens. In some circumstances, the discretionary power is used to grant citizenship to the second or subsequent generations born abroad to a British citizen (who are not usually automatically attributed British citizenship).16 In France, the courts play an important role in confirming the nationality of stateless children (please see country study, pages 8-9). The French Civil Code concept of possession d’état de national – apparent status as a national – can also provide a useful safeguard against statelessness in countries following the French tradition with low rates of birth registration. In Senegal, for example, the law provides that if someone has his or her habitual residence in the country and has always behaved and been treated as a national, it shall be presumed that he or she is a national. This provision is applied in the courts on application for a nationality certificate.17 Children of unknown parents18 A safeguard in law for children of unknown parents is much more common than one for children who do not acquire a nationality from their parents. Many countries have a process for such children to be declared to the courts or administrative authorities and for nationality to be recognized based on evidence supplied by the police, hospital, social worker or reception centre caring for the child. The protection is more effective at preventing childhood statelessness where it does not apply only to abandoned infants but is extended to apply to all young children who are not yet able to communicate accurately information pertaining to the identity of their parents or their place of birth.19 This approach was followed by Kenya in its 2010 constitutional reform (please see country study, pages 16-18). Other children born in the country States that provide the strongest protection against statelessness for children born in their territory adopt the jus soli approach: a child born in the territory of a State has the nationality of that State by virtue of birth in the territory alone.20 This approach dominates in the Americas, though it is less common elsewhere; for instance, a child born in the United States is an American citizen whatever the nationality of the parents. This approach is not, however, required by international law. The 1961 Convention and the Global Action Plan only provide for specific protections in national law for children born in the country who do not acquire another nationality at birth or for children of unknown parents. 15 Unofficial statistics obtained for the UNHCR study Mapping Statelessness in the United Kingdom indicated that, between 2001 and 2010, there were only 10 applications and five grants under the “otherwise stateless” provision, whereas officially published statistics show that between 2002 and 2014, almost 250,000 children were registered as British citizens (and almost 30,000 refused) under the general discretionary power. Mapping Statelessness in the United Kingdom, Asylum Aid and UNHCR, 2011, text with note 448; British citizenship applications under Section 3(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981, Home Office and UK Visas and Immigration, 24 October 2014. 16 “Registration of minors at discretion,” Nationality Instructions, UK Visas and Immigration, Home Office, Volume 1, Chapter 9, revised April 2015. 17 Loi n° 61-70 du 7 mars 1961 déterminant la nationalité sénégalaise (as amended), article 1. See Bronwen Manby, Nationality, Migration and Statelessness in West Africa, UNHCR and IOM, 2015. 18 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Article 2. 19 See note 3, UNHCR Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4, Para. 58. 20 Another variant of jus soli is the automatic attribution of nationality based on birth in the territory of one parent also born there. This rule, known as ‘double jus soli,’ is applied in France and in many countries following the French tradition. Although this rule does not fulfil the requirements of Action 2, it protects against inter-generational statelessness of the sort that has created the major situations of statelessness targeted by Action 1. It does so by ensuring that a nationality is attributed at birth to the second generation born in the country since each subsequent generation is likely to find it more difficult to establish a nationality in any other country. 5 CAMPAIGN TO END STATELESSNESS WITHIN 10 YE ARS