VI. Conclusions States in the Americas enjoy a reputation as exemplars in granting citizenship and preventing statelessness. Yet every state in the region must recognize and address the challenges they face in granting citizenship as a practical matter. Brazil, Chile, and Colombia all grant jus soli citizenship (to varying degrees), but for many people born in the three countries, achieving it is another matter. This report is one effort to study state practice in the field of statelessness and documentation of identity, and the contexts and situations in which statelessness can result even in the face of generous national legal frameworks based on jus soli norms. Based on the findings of this report, there are areas where the gap between the text of the laws and their implementation can be bridged through concrete actions by legislators, policy makers, local officials, and other relevant stakeholders. Access to civil registration and documentation of identity is the foundation of the right to nationality. Birth registration is a universal right of all children, and it is the duty of each state to register births that occur in its territory. While birth registration and nationality are distinct, the first is often a critical element for the recognition of the right to the second.352 This is especially the case in jus soli countries where a birth certificate is generally the central document to prove nationality for children, as well as the foundational document for other national identity documents in later life. This report has demonstrated that wide-ranging shortcomings and obstacles in birth registration procedures have affected specific communities and individuals in Brazil, Chile, and Colombia. In all three countries, lack of clarity in the legal frameworks and gaps in administrative orders lead to the denial of nationality and/or documentation. Bureau- BORN IN THE AMERICAS 81