A map drawn on the wall of a home in Côte d’Ivoire gives a sense of the population movements between neighbouring countries and Côte d’Ivoire before and after independence. Conflicts between the nationality laws of States can lead to statelessness. This is more likely to occur when people live outside of the country of their nationality or have children abroad. These problems can be addressed by introducing safeguards in nationality laws such as those stipulated in the 1961 Convention. Birth registration and issuance of documentation are also essential because they document the links every person has to one or more States. HOW THE 1961 CONVENTION HELPS TO AVO I D STAT E L E SS N E SS WHEN DOES THE 1961 CONVENTION APPLY? - T he 1961 Convention sets out rules for the conferral or non-withdrawal of nationality only where the person in question would be left stateless. In other words, the provisions of the 1961 Convention offer carefully detailed safeguards against statelessness that should be implemented through a State’s nationality law, without specifying any further parameters of that law. Beyond these few, simple safeguards, States are free to elaborate the content of their nationality legislation. However, these rules must be consistent with other international standards relating to nationality. Preventing and R e d u c i n g S t a t e l e ss n e ss 3