change the nationality of the wife, render her stateless or force upon her the nationality of the husband.” With respect to adoption, Articles 3, 7 and 8 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (“CRC”), read together, may reasonably be understood to preclude the loss of nationality by a child due to adoption, recognition or another such act.14 Contracting States that provide for loss of nationality in cases of adoption of a child by a foreigner should restrict the application of Article 5(1) of the 1961 Convention to cases where a child acquires the nationality of the adopting parent(s) by mere fact of the adoption. Loss of nationality in the context of adoption is always dependent on possession or acquisition of another nationality.15 As a matter of good practice, the domestic legislation of Contracting States should provide that legally adopted children automatically acquire the nationality of their adoptive parent(s).16 This would provide a robust safeguard against statelessness.17 Recognition of affiliation of children born out of wedlock (1961 Convention, Article 5(2)) Article 5(2) of the 1961 Convention provides that “[i]f, under the law of a Contracting State, a child born out of wedlock loses the nationality of that State in consequence of a recognition of affiliation, he shall be given an opportunity to recover that nationality by written application to the appropriate authority, and the conditions governing such an application must not be more rigorous than those laid down in paragraph 2 of Article 1 of this Convention.” This provision encompasses children born out of wedlock who possess the nationality of a Contracting State and acquire a second nationality following the formal acknowledgment of parenthood by a parent of a different nationality. In the context where a State does not permit its nationals to be dual nationals, a child may lose their nationality as a result of acquisition of another nationality. Contracting States are further reminded of their obligations with respect to the prevention of statelessness among children.18 At the time of writing, all Contracting States to the 1961 Convention 14 See e.g., Human Rights Council, Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality: Report of the SecretaryGeneral, 19 December 2013, A/HRC/25/28, para. 16: “International law states that a woman’s nationality should not be automatically affected by marriage or divorce, as set out in the 1957 Convention on the Nationality of Married Women and reaffirmed in article 9, paragraph 1, of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Similarly, article 8 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child protects the identity of the child, including nationality, from unlawful interference — a provision which, when read in conformity with articles 3 (best interests of the child) and article 7 (right to a nationality) of the Convention, may preclude the loss of nationality by a child in the context of adoption, recognition, legitimation or another such act. [Article 5 of] [t]he 1961 Convention explicitly reaffirms that if States regulate the loss of nationality in the context of any change in civil status, this must never lead to statelessness.” 15 See paragraphs 80-83 below. 16 This excludes informal forms of adoption where the legal link to a child’s non-adoptive parents is not dissolved. 17 Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, Recommendation CM/Rec(2009)13 and explanatory memorandum of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the nationality of children, 9 May 2009, CM/Rec(2009)13, https://www.refworld.org/docid/4dc7bf1c2.html, para. 36. 18 1961 Convention, Articles 1-4. Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1577 UNTS 3, (CRC), Articles 7-8. UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4: Ensuring Every Child's Right to UNHCR > GUIDELINES ON STATELESSNESS NO.5 7