Principle 2. provide that children born on their territory who otherwise would
be stateless acquire their nationality subject to no other condition than the
lawful and habitual residence of a parent;
110. The question of the advisability of keeping the word “lawful” should
examined in view of recent developments, in particular the aforementioned
UNHCR Guidelines on statelessness No. 4 and decision of UN Human Rights
Committee in the case Denny Zhao v. The Netherlands. Further explanation
could be included in the explanatory memorandum accordingly.
Principle 3. provide that children on their territory who are stateless despite
the provisions contained in principles 1 and 2 above, and who have the right
to acquire the nationality of another state, be provided with any necessary
assistance to exercise that right;
111. Further elaboration on the type of assistance should be considered for
inclusion in the explanatory memorandum, including about the privacy of
personal data.
Principle 4. provide that children who, at birth, have the right to acquire the
nationality of another state, but who could not reasonably be expected to
acquire that nationality, are not excluded from the scope of principles 1
and 2 above;
112. It would appear that this principle does not need any modification.
Principle 5. provide that stateless children have the right to apply for their
nationality after lawful and habitual residence on their territory for a period
not exceeding five years immediately preceding the lodging of the application;
113. As with principle 2, the question of the advisability of keeping the word
“lawful” should be examined in view of recent developments, in particular the
UNHCR Guidelines on statelessness No. 4 and the decision of UN Human Rights
Committee in the case Denny Zhao v. The Netherlands. Further explanation
could be included in the explanatory memorandum accordingly.
Principle 6. co-operate closely on issues of statelessness of children, including exchanging information on nationality legislation and public policies,
as well as on nationality details in individual cases, subject to applicable
laws on personal data protection;
114. Further elaboration on the types of co-operation could be considered in
the explanatory memorandum. There appears to be difficulties in understanding
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