Convention.84 Laws which permit an individual to be deprived of a nationality if they are considered to be eligible for or entitled to another nationality are highly problematic as there is a high risk that individuals may be left stateless upon being deprived of their nationality. Where a Contracting State makes loss of nationality under Articles 5-7 of the 1961 Convention conditional upon acquisition of another nationality, such acquisition of nationality should be certain and imminent. Moreover, the Contracting State should restore an individual’s nationality in the event that acquisition of a second nationality does not occur swiftly after the nationality of the Contracting State is lost, for example, within one year. In any event, where withdrawal of nationality is conditional upon acquisition of another nationality, a State should only withdraw nationality where individuals are able to avail themselves of a nationality acquisition procedure that is easily accessible, both physically and financially, as well as one that is simple in terms of procedural steps and evidentiary requirements. Moreover, the acquisition/reacquisition procedure must be swift and the re-acquisition of nationality guaranteed because it is non-discretionary where prescribed requirements are met.85 III. THE RIGHT TO NATIONALITY AND THE PROHIBITION OF ARBITRARY DEPRIVATION OF NATIONALITY IN INTERNATIONAL LAW Contracting States should note the relevance of the fundamental nature of the right to a nationality and prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality to the exercise of their powers to withdraw nationality under the 1961 Convention. The guidance in this Part of these Guidelines is also relevant to States not party to the 1961 Convention insofar as it concerns international law and good practices generally. The UDHR sets out in Article 15 that “[e]veryone has the right to a nationality.” There is a strong international consensus that the right to a nationality and, relatedly, the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality are fundamental principles of international law. 86 The two principles are closely linked and mutually reinforcing. They are found side by side in the UDHR as paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 15.87 The prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality extends to all situations in which an 84 ibid., para. 23. ibid., para.155. 86 A number of domestic and international courts have confirmed the fundamental nature of the right to a nationality. See e.g., KV v Secretary of State for Home Department, Court of Appeal of England and Wales, [2019] EWCA Civ 1796, para. 18; Anudo Ochieng Anudo v Republic of Tanzania, African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Application No. 012/2015, 22 March 2018, para. 76; and Case of Expelled Dominicans and Haitians v Dominican Republic, 28 August 2014, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Series C No. 282, paras. 253 and 255. See also Case Concerning United States Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran (United States v Iran) [1980] ICJ Reports 3, para. 91: In this judgment, the ICJ affirmed that the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are of a fundamental character. 87 See e.g., Hurst Hannum, The Status of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in National and International Law, [1996] 25 Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law 287, https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/gjicl/vol25/iss1/13/; and Gerard-René de Groot and Olivier Willem Vonk, International Standards on Nationality Law: Texts, Cases and Materials (Wolf 2015), pp. 45-46. 85 UNHCR > GUIDELINES ON STATELESSNESS NO.5 25