grant of Ukrainian citizenship coincides with the renunciation of Uzbek citizenship, thus avoiding the possibility of an individual becoming stateless during the process. During the three years that this bilateral agreement was in force, some 80,000 returnees from Uzbekistan were granted Ukrainian citizenship. Ukraine later concluded similar bilateral agreements with Belarus (1999), Kazakhstan (2000), Tajikistan (2001), and the Kyrgyz Republic (2003). In January 2001, the Ukrainian parliament adopted a new Citizenship Law that goes even further toward preventing statelessness. Among other provisions, the Law, which was revised in 2005, allows applicants to renounce their foreign citizenship within one year of acquiring Ukrainian nationality and waives formal renunciation requirements if the fees demanded for renunciation would exceed the minimum monthly wage in Ukraine. Laws and practices that particularly affect children As stipulated by both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), all children, regardless of where they were born, should be registered immediately at birth. All children have a right to acquire a nationality. The nationality of a child will be determined according to the laws of the States involved; and all States require clarification of where the child was born and to whom. Without proof of birth, that is, without a recognized birth registration, it is almost impossible for a child to establish his/her identity and thus to acquire a nationality. To avoid this problem: • States should provide the necessary resources to the relevant local administration to ensure that birth registration is systematically conducted in accordance with Article 7 of the CRC and Article 24 of the ICCPR. Support from the international community, particularly through UNICEF, should be requested if necessary. • When registering births, States should identify cases of disputed nationality and should grant citizenship if the child would otherwise be stateless. Relevant provisions of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness should be incorporated into national legislation following accession to the Convention. These provisions should be incorporated into domestic legislation even if the State has not acceded to the 1961 Convention. • There should be provisions in citizenship legislation for the acquisition of nationality of the country in which the child was born. This would prevent statelessness in cases where an error was made in determining the nationality of the child at birth. • Children born out of wedlock should, to the extent possible, be given the same access to nationality at birth as children born to married parents in accordance with national law. 31