A/HRC/31/29 among those countries that restrict women’s ability to pass nationality on to their children are a number of refugee-producing States and countries with high rates of labour emigration, these laws also serve to increase the vulnerability of children born to women refugees and migrants to statelessness.41 B. Common problems in national laws and practice 21. Different legal obstacles can prevent children who would otherwise be stateless from acquiring nationality. One of the most common limitations placed by States on access to nationality for children who would otherwise be stateless is to make access contingent on the nationality status or the statelessness of the child’s parents. In half of the countries in West Africa, for instance, a child is able to acquire nationality if his or her parents are stateless and/or of unknown citizenship. 42 The same is true for 11 countries in Europe43 and some States in other regions. 44 This approach to the formulation of safeguards to avoid childhood statelessness is problematic, given that it does not account for the possibility that the child’s parent (or parents) holds a nationality but is unable to transmit it. This approach could also be regarded as being in contravention of relevant international human rights instruments that clearly enunciate the right of every child to acquire a nationality. 22. Another common limitation found in legislation is to make the acquisition of nationality by a child born on the territory of the State and who would otherwise be stateless contingent on certain residence requirements: the child and/or the parents may need to be lawful or, in some cases, permanent residents of the territory for the safeguard to apply.45 This requirement excludes some stateless children from the application of the relevant safeguard and is not in line with the international human rights principles of nondiscrimination and the best interests of the child. 23. Many States grant nationality automatically to a child born on the territory who would otherwise be stateless. This ensures that, in accordance with the best interests of the child, the right to nationality is realized immediately at birth. In other States, the child (or the parents on the child’s behalf) must apply to secure a nationality, in which case there may be procedural conditions attached. These can create a barrier for access to nationality for the child, especially where the child must produce certain documents that he or she may not be in a position to obtain owing to his or her legal status. A birth certificate may be needed; lawful residence might, however, be in turn required to have access to birth registration, and thus prevent a child who lacks – or whose parents lack –regular migration status in the country from gaining access to nationality. 46 24. In the absence of special measures for the identification of cases of statelessness among children, the child or his or her parents may be expected to provide documentation that, by virtue of the very circumstance and nature of statelessness, is difficult or impossible to obtain, such as a declaration from a diplomatic mission or consular office that the child has not acquired a nationality from his or her parents. 47 A related problem is the absence, in 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 8 UNHCR, Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness, Background Note, 2015. Bronwen Manby, “Nationality, Migration and Statelessness in West Africa. A study for UNHCR and IOM”, June 2015. European Network on Statelessness, No child should be stateless (see footnote 31), p. 15. Submissions from Kazakhstan and the Republic of Korea. This is the case for 14 States in Europe. See also European Network on Statelessness, No child should be stateless (see footnote 31), p. 16. Submission from the Legal Resources Centre, South Africa. Submission from Costa Rica.