This interpretation is supported by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which has authoritatively interpreted Article 7 of the CRC since 1990 as requiring State Parties to grant nationality to all children born on the territory who would otherwise be stateless, regardless of the residence status of the children or their parents.267 In its Concluding observation in October 2017, the Committee urged Denmark to provide for the automatic granting of nationality to all children born in Denmark who would otherwise be stateless.268 Under Danish law, the Ministry of Immigration and Integration is required to forward the names of qualified applicants to Parliament. The Parliament itself is not bound by any domestic law or rule to grant the persons listed on a naturalization bill Danish citizenship, while international law obligations apply.269 In this regard, it is recommended to further examine whether the existing procedure for granting nationality to children born in Denmark, who would otherwise be stateless, may be discretionary in a way, which would not comply with the CRC (cf. Article 1 of the 1961 Convention). 4.2.1.1.2 Rules governing persons born stateless in Denmark who have attained the age of 18 years but are not yet 21 years old Persons born stateless in Denmark, who already reached the age of 18, but not the age of 21, are also entitled to Danish nationality by naturalization. The rule aims at satisfying the requirements of Article 1 of the 1961 Convention, and it is now included in Section 26 of the Naturalization Circular of September 2018. The conditions are as follows: • The applicant must be born stateless in Denmark and always have been stateless. • The applicant must have his or her habitual residence in Denmark (the Danish wording is “fast bopæl”). • The applicant must have resided habitually in Denmark for five years immediately preceding the submission of the application, or must have resided habitually in Denmark for eight years altogether. This means that the applicant may have lived in Denmark for different periods of a total duration of eight years, but in any case, at the time of submitting the application for nationality, he or she must reside in Denmark. • The applicant must not have been found guilty of an offence against national security, and not have been sentenced to imprisonment for five years or more for a criminal offence. Offences against national security are acts falling within the scope of Part 12 of the Criminal Code on offences against national independence and security and Part 13 of the Code on offences against the Constitution and the supreme authorities of the state. These provisions relate to, among others, offences that are considered terrorist acts. • The applicant must make a solemn declaration confirming that he or she has not been found guilty of any acts falling within the scope of Part 12 of the Criminal Code on offences against national independence and security or Part 13 on offences against the Constitution and the supreme authorities of the state. • The applicant must also solemnly declare whether he or she has been sentenced to imprisonment for five years or more. The Parliament itself is not bound by any domestic law or rule to grant the persons listed on a naturalization bill Danish citizenship, while international law obligations apply.270 On this background, it should be examined whether 267 Since 1990, The CRC Committee has made at least 27 recommendations to various State Parties underlying this obligation. See for instance; UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Concluding observations on the fourth periodic report of the Netherlands, 8 June 2015, CRC/C/NDL/CO/4, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/566fc5a04.html, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Concluding observations on the combined second to fourth periodic reports of Turkmenistan, 10 March 2015, CRC/C/TKM/CO/24, available at: https://bit.ly/30V8H4g, and UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Concluding observations on the combined second to fourth periodic reports of Switzerland, 26 February 2015, CRC/C/CHE/CO/2-4, available at: https://bit.ly/3jOkDxm. 268 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Concluding observations on the fifth periodic report of Denmark, 26 October 2017, CRC/C/DNK/CO/5, para. 15, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/5a0ebb974.html. 269 The Danish Supreme Court has – as referenced in sec. 4.2.– found that it to a certain degree can review whether international law obligations have been violated, and whether an applicant for this reason can claim compensation. 270 The Danish Supreme Court has – as referenced in sec. 4.2. – found that it to a certain degree can review whether international law obligations have been violated, and whether an applicant for this reason can claim compensation. UNHCR Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries 65