Impact of International Human Rights Norms on the 1961 Convention 1. Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights establishes the right of every person to a nationality. This right is fundamental for the enjoyment in practice of the full range of human rights. The object and purpose of the 1961 Convention is to prevent and reduce statelessness, thereby guaranteeing every individual’s right to a nationality. The Convention does so by establishing rules for Contracting States on acquisition, renunciation, loss and deprivation of nationality. 2. The provisions of the 1961 Convention, however, must be read in light of subsequent developments in international law, in particular international human rights law. Of particular relevance are treaties such as the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Regional human rights instruments, such as the 1969 American Convention on Human Rights, the 1990 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the 1997 European Convention on Nationality, the 2004 Arab Charter on Human Rights, the 2005 Covenant on the Rights of the Child in Islam, and the 2006 Council of Europe Convention on the avoidance of statelessness in relation to State succession are also relevant. Paramount importance of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and regional human rights treaties that recognize the right of every child to acquire a nationality 3. The CRC is of paramount importance in determining the scope of the 1961 Convention obligations to prevent statelessness among children. All save two United Nations Members States are party to the CRC. All Contracting States to the 1961 Convention are also party to the CRC. 4. Several provisions of the CRC are important tools for interpreting Articles 1 to 4 of the 1961 Convention. CRC Article 7 guarantees that every child has the right to acquire a nationality while CRC Article 8 ensures that every child has the right to preserve his or her identity, including nationality. CRC Article 2 is a general non-discrimination clause which applies to all substantive rights enshrined in the CRC, including Articles 7 and 8. CRC Article 3 also applies in conjunction with Articles 7 and 8 and requires that all actions concerning children, including in the area of nationality, must be undertaken with the best interests of the child as a primary consideration. 5. It follows from CRC Articles 3 and 7 that a child may not be left stateless for an extended period of time. The obligations imposed on States by the CRC are not only directed to the country of birth of a child, but to all countries with 2