In addition, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (the 1961 Convention) places a particular obligation on the State where the child is born. Article 1 requires that “[a] Contracting State shall grant its nationality to a person born in its territory who would otherwise be stateless.” Sub-articles of this provision give States some flexibility in the manner in which they achieve this outcome, prescribing that the child should either acquire the nationality of the State at birth or at a later time by application. The 1961 Convention prescribes that the maximum period of residence after birth before a nationality is confirmed is to be no more than 10 years.2 It is in the best interests of the child to acquire a nationality at or very soon after birth.3 Therefore, UNHCR’s Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4: Ensuring Every Child’s Right to Acquire a Nationality through Articles 1-4 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (UNHCR Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4) and the Global Action Plan recommend that States automatically grant their nationality to children in such situations, rather than providing for an application process. The Global Action Plan emphasizes that a State must assess whether a child born on its territory possesses the nationality of another State; if not, the birth State must confer nationality on the child. Article 2 of the 1961 Convention provides specific protections for children of unknown parents, a group at particular risk of statelessness. It also restates the long-standing principle that: “A foundling found in the territory of a Contracting State shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be considered to have been born within that territory of parents possessing the nationality of that State.”4 UNHCR’s Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4 recommend that this safeguard “apply to all young children who are not yet able to communicate accurately information pertaining to the identity of their parents or their place of birth.”5 The 1961 Convention places the primary responsibility to prevent statelessness among children on the State of birth. However, a State Party to the Convention also has obligations to children of its nationals born outside its territory. Article 4 of the Convention requires a State to recognize the nationality of a child born outside its territory to a parent who has its nationality if the child would otherwise be stateless. In regional human rights systems, both the American Convention on Human Rights and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child provide for the right to a nationality. Both place an obligation on the State of birth similar to that in the 1961 Convention with regard to children who do not acquire another nationality at birth.6 UNHCR’s guidelines provide guidance on the interpretation of the 1961 Convention, including in situations in which it must be considered that a child would otherwise be stateless, emphasizing that this is a mixed question of fact and law.7 2 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Article 2(b). 3 Convention on the Rights of the Child, Articles 2, 3, 7 and 8; UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4: Ensuring Every Child’s Right to Acquire a Nationality through Articles 1-4 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, 21 December 2012, HCR/GS/12/04, Para. 11, available at http://www.refworld.org/docid/50d460c72.html. 4 This protection dates back to the 1930 Hague Convention on Certain Questions relating to the Conflict of Nationality Laws, which provides: “A child whose parents are both unknown shall have the nationality of the country of birth. If the child’s parentage is established, its nationality shall be determined by the rules applicable in cases where the parentage is known. A foundling is, until the contrary is proved, presumed to have been born on the territory of the State in which it was found.” 5 See note 3, UNHCR Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4, Para. 58. 6 American Convention on Human Rights, Article 20(2); African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Article 6(4).In 2014, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child adopted a General Comment on Article 6 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, ACERWC/GC/02, 2014, available at http://www.refworld.org/docid/54db21734.html. 7 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, 30 June 2014, para 23, available at http://www.refworld.org/docid/53b676aa4.html and see note 3, UNHCR Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4, Para. 18-19. 2 CAMPAIGN TO END STATELESSNESS WITHIN 10 YE ARS