13 communicating basic facts with respect to their nationality are to be respected. All relevant evidence needs to be assessed, including the statement of the applicant and/or his parents or guardians, legislation of the concerned State(s) (i.e. the State(s) of nationality of the parents), information on application of the nationality legislation in practice, the birth certificate of the individual, identity documents of the parents, responses from diplomatic missions of other States and oral testimony, including statements of third witnesses and experts. d) Classification of Children as of “Undetermined Nationality” 14 22. Some States make findings that a child is of “undetermined nationality”. When this occurs, States need to determine whether a child would otherwise be stateless as soon as possible so as not to prolong a child’s status of undetermined nationality. For the application of Articles 1 and 4 of the 1961 Convention, it is appropriate that such a period not exceed five 15 years. While designated as being of undetermined nationality, these children are to enjoy human rights (such as health and education) on equal terms as children who are citizens. 23. If a Contracting State has opted to grant its nationality automatically at birth to children who would otherwise be stateless, they are to treat children of undetermined nationality as possessing the nationality of the State of birth unless and until the possession of another nationality is proven. e) Possibility to Acquire the Nationality of a Parent by Registration 24. Responsibility to grant nationality to children who would otherwise be stateless is not engaged where a child is born in a State’s territory and is stateless, but could acquire a nationality by registration with the State of nationality of a parent, or a similar procedure such 16 as declaration or exercise of a right of option. 25. It is acceptable for Contracting States not to grant nationality to children in these circumstances only if the child concerned can acquire the nationality of a parent immediately after birth and the State of nationality of the parent does not have any discretion to refuse the grant of nationality. States that do not grant nationality in such circumstances are recommended to assist parents in initiating the relevant procedure with the authorities of their State or States of nationality. 26. Moreover, the State is to grant nationality if a child’s parents are unable or have good reasons for not registering their child with the State of their own nationality. This needs to be determined depending on whether an individual could reasonably be expected to take action 17 to acquire the nationality in the circumstances of their particular case. f) Special Position of Refugee Children 18 27. Some children are born to refugee parents who are themselves stateless or cannot acquire the nationality of their parents owing to restrictions on transmission of nationality to 13 Please see further the Procedures Guidelines at paragraph 66, which advises that “[a]dditional procedural and evidentiary safeguards for child [statelessness] claimants include priority processing of their claims, provision of appropriately trained legal representatives, interviewers and interpreters, as well as the assumption of a greater share of the burden of proof by the State.” 14 This term is used here as an umbrella expression for the classification of the nationality status as “unknown”, “undetermined” or “under investigation”. The term also covers cases where States do not classify a person as “stateless”, but rather use a specific term based on their domestic law. 15 Five years is the maximum period of residence, which may be required under Article 1(2)(b) of the 1961 Convention where a State has an application procedure in place, please see below at paragraph 40. 16 This issue was addressed during the drafting of the 1961 Convention. The representative of Switzerland stated: “The fathers of such children often deliberately caused them to become stateless […] a procedure which his country could not tolerate”. Please see Summary Record of the 9th Plenary Meeting of the United Nations Conference on the Elimination or Reduction of Future Statelessness, A/CONF.9/SR.9 (15-4-1959), p. 2. 17 This would be relevant, for example, where a parent or parents cannot be reasonably expected to register their children on account of their refugee status. 18 The same would apply to persons eligible for complementary protection, for example, who fall within the European Union’s subsidiary protection regime set out in Council Directive 2011/95/EU of 13 December 2011 on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection 6