If a child with a mother who is a national of a State that has adopted paternal jus sanguinis106 cannot acquire the nationality of the father,107 then the child may become stateless in Japan. Also included below are States whose nationality cannot be passed onto the child through the father unless the father meets certain requirements. Even if the father is a national of one of the States below, the child cannot acquire the father’s nationality unless the father or the child meets certain requirements; in such cases, if the child cannot acquire the mother’s nationality either, he or she becomes stateless. • Nepal • Malaysia • Iran • Saudi Arabia • Syria108 • Sudan109 • Jordan110 • Iraq111 • Lebanon112 • Brunei • United Arab Emirates113 106 Many of the States that adopt the paternal jus sanguinis principle make exceptions in certain circumstances, for example enabling acquisition of the mother’s nationality in the case of a child born out of wedlock or in case the father is unknown (or in the case the child is born in the State with a foreign father, although the number of States making exceptions in such cases is low). UNHCR, “Background Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness 2017” (8 March 2017), at http://www.refworld.org/docid/58aff4d94.html, p.3. Nevertheless, in many States, the provisions for exceptions are not implemented or it is not clear if they are implemented. Betsy Fisher, “Why NonMarital Children in the MENA Region Face a Risk of Statelessness”, Harvard Human Rights Journal Online (January 2015), at http://harvardhrj.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Fisher_HRJ_01-05-15.pdf, p. 4. 107 Cases when a child “cannot acquire the nationality of the father” would include, for example: where the father is stateless; where the laws of the father’s State do not permit conferral of nationality in certain circumstances (such as when the child is born abroad); where the father is unknown or not married to the mother at the time of birth; where the father has not recognized a child born out of wedlock; where the father’s recognition of a child born out of wedlock is not linked to acquisition of nationality; or where the father is unable or unwilling to undertake the necessary procedures to confer his nationality or acquire proof or confirmation of nationality for his child. Also see UNHCR, “Background Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness 2017” (8 March 2017), at http://www.refworld.org/docid/58aff4d94.html, p. 1. 108 Syria Nationality, “Resource library”, at http://syrianationality.org/nationality-documentation-and-statelessness-in-syria/syrias-nationality-law. 109 For English translation of relevant laws, see http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/502cc1b92.pdf. 110 For English translation of relevant laws, see http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b4ea13.html. 111 For English translation of relevant laws, see http://www.refworld.org/docid/4b1e364c2.html. 112 For English translation of relevant laws, see http://www.refworld.org/docid/44a24c6c4.html. 113 For English translation of relevant laws, see http://www.refworld.org/docid/3fba182d0.html. 51