A/HRC/31/29 many countries, of a statelessness determination procedure that would allow stateless persons present in the country to be recognized as such and could avoid an undue burden being placed on them to secure a nationality for their children born in the country. 48 Moreover, production of the required evidence can be problematic for children of refugees, for whom contact with the consular authorities of their State of origin may carry serious risks. States must ensure that particular requirements do not have the effect of undermining access to nationality for otherwise stateless children, particularly with regard to the situation of such vulnerable groups as children of refugees or undocumented migrants. 25. Even where the law does not explicitly require the child or his or her parents to provide specific forms of evidence establishing the child’s statelessness, the lack of proper identification of cases of statelessness can be a major impediment to the effective fulfilment of every child’s right to acquire a nationality. A child’s nationality may either be deemed “unknown” or “pending clarification” by the State concerned, or they are attributed a nationality that they do not in fact enjoy, so that the safeguard guaranteeing a nationality to stateless children cannot be invoked.49 This can place a child in a state of legal limbo, which may last for years, even into adulthood. This is liable to have negative repercussions on the definition of the child’s personal identity, 50 and is not in accordance with the best interests of the child. 26. Other issues that prevent children from acquiring a nationality have emerged. They include the inability of children of undocumented migrants and of members of indigenous peoples to obtain nationality in jus soli regimes. There are also problems in the interaction between citizenship regulations and other fields of national law and policy, such as civil registration or marriage law, 51 in the context of international commercial surrogacy, and for children of same-sex couples.52 States and human rights mechanisms should pay continued attention to all relevant laws and practices that interact with and have an impact on the fulfilment of every child’s right to acquire a nationality, not only those that relate specifically to the regulation of nationality. IV. Impact of arbitrary deprivation of nationality on the enjoyment of human rights by children 27. The arbitrary deprivation of nationality of children is in itself a human rights violation, with statelessness its possible and most extreme consequence. International human rights law is not premised on the nationality of the person but rather on the dignity that is equally inherent to all human beings. In practice, however, those who enjoy the right to a nationality have greater access to the enjoyment of various other human rights. Key political rights, such as the right to vote or stand for election, or to perform certain public functions, which may be restricted to a country’s citizens, 53 stand in exception to the above statement, as they are examples of human rights to which persons with no nationality 48 49 50 51 52 53 A growing number of States have dedicated statelessness determination procedures in place, while others are in the process of establishing them. European Network on Statelessness, No child should be stateless (see footnote 31), p. 17. See Mennesson v. France. Submission from the Islamic Republic of Iran. See Mennesson v. France. Submission from the European Network on Statelessness. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 25. 9