Chapter 1 Issues at stake: international standards and stocktaking of national situations A. Preventing statelessness among children 1. International standards 5. The 1961 United Nations Convention on the reduction of statelessness gives children who would otherwise be stateless the right to acquire the nationality of their country of birth through one of the following means. First, the state may grant its nationality to otherwise stateless children born on its territory automatically by operation of law (ex lege). The second alternative is that the state may later grant nationality upon application to otherwise stateless persons born on their territory. The grant of nationality on application may, according to Article 1(2) of the 1961 Convention, be subject to one or more of four conditions. Article 1 of the 1961 Convention also allows contracting states to provide for the automatic grant of nationality to otherwise stateless children born in their territory subsequently, at an age determined by domestic law. 6. A contracting state may apply a combination of these alternatives for acquisition of its nationality by providing different modes of acquisition based on the level of attachment of the individual to that state. For example, a contracting state might provide for automatic acquisition of its nationality by otherwise stateless children born in their territory whose parents are permanent or lawful residents in the country, whereas it might require an application procedure for those whose parents are not lawful residents. Any distinction in treatment of different groups of individuals, however, cannot be based on discriminatory grounds and must be reasonable and proportionate.6 6. See UNHCR Guidelines on statelessness No. 4 – Ensuring Every Child’s Right to Acquire a Nationality through Articles 1-4 of the 1961 Convention, para. 33. ► Page 7