a child born in Finland to acquire the nationality of the parent(s).46 The child was born in Finland out of wedlock to a Somali mother. The local registry office requested Migri to determine the citizenship status of the child. Migri decided that although a child could not acquire the nationality of Somalia through the mother, the child did not acquire Finnish nationality because the mother did not want to identify the child’s father, which Migri considered to be the reason for the child’s ‘voluntary’ statelessness.47 The mother then appealed to the Administrative Court, which found that the child had acquired Finnish nationality at birth; the Supreme Administrative Court confirmed this decision. The Court explained that the obligation of the applicant to provide information to establish a child’s nationality did not imply an obligation to establish paternity. It held that given the aim of preventing statelessness enshrined in international law and the Constitution and Nationality Act of Finland, the provision of Section 9 of the Nationality Act with regard to the secondary right of a child to acquire another nationality could not in this case be interpreted to mean that the child had a secondary right to the nationality of Somalia. The Court judged that the child had therefore acquired Finnish nationality at birth. In a 2012 judgment, the Supreme Administrative Court considered the case of a child born in Finland of two foreign parents of different nationalities and the right of Migri to determine the citizenship status of the child in this case. The Court concluded that, even though it is not explicitly mentioned in the Nationality Act or Decree, one of the aims of citizenship status determination is prevention of statelessness, and the role of Migri in determining citizenship status was critical to the prevention of statelessness in situations where the nationality of a child born in Finland may be unclear.48 The case of Finland shows that in addition to safeguards in nationality law, protection against statelessness at birth requires effective implementation mechanisms. This includes a comprehensive system of population registration and nationality status determination, so that doubtful cases may be referred for adjudication or judicial review. 46 Judgment KHO:2011:78, 16.9.2011/2618. 47 Unusually, the Finnish Nationality Act creates separate definitions for “voluntary” and “involuntary” statelessness, relating to actions that could be taken by the person concerned. 48 Judgment KHO:2012:28104. 12 CAMPAIGN TO END STATELESSNESS WITHIN 10 YE ARS