A/HRC/31/29 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 16 December 2015 Original: English Human Rights Council Thirty-first session Agenda items 2 and 3 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Impact of the arbitrary deprivation of nationality on the enjoyment of the rights of children concerned, and existing laws and practices on accessibility for children to acquire nationality, inter alia, of the country in which they are born, if they otherwise would be stateless Report of the Secretary-General Summary The present report highlights the fact that statelessness is contrary to the principle of the best interests of the child and that arbitrary deprivation of nationality places children in a situation of increased vulnerability to human rights violations, including of their right to an identity, education, the highest attainable standard of health, family life and an adequate standard of living. The right of every child to acquire a nationality is guaranteed in international human rights law with the aim of avoiding a situation whereby the child is afforded less protection because he or she is stateless. States must ensure that comprehensive safeguards to prevent statelessness are incorporated into domestic law and implemented effectively in practice, including provisions allowing for the acquisition of nationality by an otherwise stateless child as soon as possible after birth. GE.15-22246(E) *1522246*