A/HRC/13/34 54. According to the Commission, when there is more than one successor State, not every one has the obligation to attribute its nationality to every single person concerned; nonetheless, the obligation to prevent the occurrence of statelessness is a corollary of the right to a nationality and, thus, creates an obligation for States to take all appropriate measures to prevent persons from becoming stateless. In the context of State succession, it is generally accepted that States may require the renunciation of the nationality of another State as a condition for granting its nationality subject to the condition that such a procedure does not result in statelessness. For instance, in its commentary on article 9 of the draft articles on the nationality of natural persons, the Commission expressed its concern “with the risk of statelessness related to the ... requirement of prior renunciation of another nationality”.13 55. Considering the detrimental impact that State succession may have on, inter alia, the right to a nationality, article 18 of the draft articles on the nationality of natural persons provides that States concerned should exchange information and consult to identify such effects and, when necessary, eliminate or mitigate such effects through negotiation. The Commission pointed out that one of the most important questions in this regard is the prevention of statelessness. V. Conclusions 56. The right of every individual to a nationality is clearly regulated in international human rights law, which provides for the explicit recognition of that right. International human rights law also explicitly provides for the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality. 57. International human rights law provides that the right of States to decide who their nationals are is not absolute and, in particular, States must comply with their human rights obligations concerning the granting and loss of nationality. 58. International human rights law clearly establishes the obligation of all States to respect the human rights of all individuals without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. States therefore have the obligation to ensure that all persons enjoy the right to nationality without discrimination of any kind, and that no one is denied or deprived of their nationality on the basis of discriminatory grounds. 59. Deprivation of nationality resulting in statelessness will generally be arbitrary unless it serves a legitimate purpose and complies with the principle of proportionality. Exceptions to this general principle should be construed narrowly. 60. All children have the right to acquire a nationality. International standards provide that children born in the territory of a State or abroad to a national should acquire the nationality of that State where they would otherwise be stateless. 61. International instruments also provide for the facilitated naturalization of stateless persons and refugees. 62. States have an obligation to register all children at birth. Birth registration ensures, inter alia, that children are able to document links to one or more States and acquire a nationality based on birth to a national and/or birth on the territory. 13 14 Ibid., pp. 28, 31. GE.09-17512