I. Introduction Citizenship in the Americas Children born in the Americas have an advantage over those born in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East: most states in the Americas grant citizenship by jus soli, which confers citizenship through birth on the territory of a state.14 In the post-colonial establishment of independent states in the Americas, immigration was needed,15 and the predominance of jus soli citizenship acquisition rules facilitated immigration.16 In Latin America, small populations in the nineteenth century incentivized states to provide nationality by birth on the territory in order to achieve population growth.17 Citizenship served as a state-building tool, uniting people of different backgrounds.18 Since at least the 1948 drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, South America has been a prominent champion of nationality rights, promoting the right to nationality as a fundamental human right.19 Most countries in South America have strong statelessness prevention safeguards in their domestic legislation.20 In addition, most countries in the region are generous in attributing nationality at birth, through a combination of jus soli (citizenship through birth in their territory) and jus sanguinis (citizenship through descent).21 (Please see Appendix of this report for a comparative chart of American states’ citizenship regimes.) This stands in sharp contrast to Africa, where most Commonwealth countries22 and a few former French colonies23 have progressively abandoned jus soli citizenship, which had been enshrined in their independence constitutions, in favor of jus sanguinis. These changes have increased statelessness in Africa, while the Americas have maintained traditions and expanded access to citizenship through descent without limiting jus soli citizenship.24 BORN IN THE AMERICAS 25