determination procedure further exacerbates this risk, which can be avoided through law and policy reform which takes on board Malta’s obligations to protect the human rights of all persons including those who are stateless. PREVENTION AND REDUCTION 26. There are some safeguards in Maltese law to prevent statelessness, but implementation is problematic and there are some gaps. 27. There is a provision for children born stateless in Malta to acquire citizenship after five years’ residence, but this provision is little-known and there are no reports of it ever having been used. There also is a safeguard against statelessness in adoption cases. 28. Foundlings are deemed to be Maltese from birth, but the wording of the provision does not explicitly prevent statelessness, stating that the child will be deemed Maltese “until his right to any other citizenship is established” leaving open the possibility of statelessness arising later in life or if their parents are identified and a legal ‘right’ to nationality is established, irrespective of whether there are practical barriers to the child actually acquiring another nationality.9 29. The differential treatment of children born in and out of wedlock to Maltese parents abroad was ruled to be discriminatory by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in 2011 (Genovese v. Malta), but this discriminatory provision remains in force in Maltese law. Birth registration is not problematic in law, but there are reports of barriers to undocumented parents registering births in practice. 30. Whilst the Civil Code was amended in 2015 to allow the Director of the Public Registry to register births of children born at sea on board unregistered vessels (Article 285A), births of babies born aboard registered vessels are refused registration in Malta, despite Malta being the first harbour of disembarkation, the parent’s habitual place of residence and – in some cases – where international protection is recognised. RECOMMENDATIONS 31. In light of the fact that statelessness was not focused on under the First and Second Cycle of review, the co-submitting organisations urge reviewing states to make the following recommendations to Malta: I. Accede to and fully implement the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. II. Implement a Statelessness Determination Procedure in order to comply with the 1954 Convention, and ensure that the procedure is fair, effective and accessible to all persons in Malta regardless of their legal status. The procedure should comply with international standards of due process and follow the procedural safeguards outlined in UNHCR’s Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons; and should 9 Article 17(3) read in conjunction with the third proviso of Article 5(1), Maltese Citizenship Act, Chapter 188 of the Laws of Malta, available at http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&itemid=8702&l=1. 5