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Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- The Committees urge States parties to take all necessary measures to ensure that all children are immediately registered at birth and issued birth certificates, irrespective of their migration status or that of their parents. Legal and practical obstacles to birth registration should be removed, including by prohibiting data sharing between health providers or civil servants responsible for registration with immigration enforcement authorities; and not requiring parents to produce documentation regarding their migration status. Measures should also be taken to facilitate late registration of birth and to avoid financial penalties for late registration. Children who have not been registered should be ensured equal access to health care, protection, education and other social services.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Infants
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Growing numbers of adolescent girls and boys migrate, either within or outside their country of origin, in search of improved standards of living, education or family reunification. For many, migration offers significant social and economic opportunities. However, it also poses risks, including physical harm, psychological trauma, marginalization, discrimination, xenophobia and sexual and economic exploitation and, when crossing borders, immigration raids and detention. Many adolescent migrants are denied access to education, housing, health, recreation, participation, protection and social security. Even where rights to services are protected by laws and policies, adolescents may face administrative and other obstacles in gaining access to such services, including: demands for identity documents or social security numbers; harmful and inaccurate age-determination procedures; financial and linguistic barriers; and the risk that gaining access to services will result in detention or deportation. The Committee refers States parties to its comprehensive recommendations elaborated in respect of migrant children.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Treatment of Unaccompanied and Separated Children Outside Their Country of Origin 2005, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- The principle of non-discrimination, in all its facets, applies in respect to all dealings with separated and unaccompanied children. In particular, it prohibits any discrimination on the basis of the status of a child as being unaccompanied or separated, or as being a refugee, asylum seeker or migrant. This principle, when properly understood, does not prevent, but may indeed call for, differentiation on the basis of different protection needs such as those deriving from age and/or gender. Measures should also be taken to address possible misperceptions and stigmatization of unaccompanied or separated children within the society. Policing or other measures concerning unaccompanied or separated children relating to public order are only permissible where such measures are based on the law; entail individual rather than collective assessment; comply with the principle of proportionality; and represent the least intrusive option. In order not to violate the prohibition on non-discrimination, such measures can, therefore, never be applied on a group or collective basis.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2005
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights ... 2017, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- The Committees encourage States parties to ensure that the authorities responsible for children’s rights have a leading role, with clear decision-making power, on policies, practices and decisions that affect the rights of children in the context of international migration. Comprehensive child protection systems at the national and local levels should mainstream into their programmes the situation of all children in the context of international migration, including in countries of origin, transit, destination and return. In addition to the mandates of child protection bodies, authorities responsible for migration and other related policies that affect children’s rights should also systematically assess and address the impacts on and needs of children in the context of international migration at every stage of policymaking and implementation.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Treatment of Unaccompanied and Separated Children Outside Their Country of Origin 2005, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- [States must have full respect for the preconditions provided under article 21 of the Convention as well as other relevant international instruments, including in particular the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption and its 1994 Recommendation Concerning the Application to Refugee and other Internationally Displaced Children when considering the adoption of unaccompanied and separated children. States should, in particular, observe the following:] Adoption of unaccompanied or separated children should only be considered once it has been established that the child is in a position to be adopted. In practice, this means, inter alia, that efforts with regard to tracing and family reunification have failed, or that the parents have consented to the adoption. The consent of parents and the consent of other persons, institutions and authorities that are necessary for adoption must be free and informed. This supposes notably that such consent has not been induced by payment or compensation of any kind and has not been withdrawn;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2005
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Treatment of Unaccompanied and Separated Children Outside Their Country of Origin 2005, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- When assessing refugee claims of unaccompanied or separated children, States shall take into account the development of, and formative relationship between, international human rights and refugee law, including positions developed by UNHCR in exercising its supervisory functions under the 1951 Refugee Convention. In particular, the refugee definition in that Convention must be interpreted in an age and gender-sensitive manner, taking into account the particular motives for, and forms and manifestations of, persecution experienced by children. Persecution of kin; under-age recruitment; trafficking of children for prostitution; and sexual exploitation or subjection to female genital mutilation, are some of the child-specific forms and manifestations of persecution which may justify the granting of refugee status if such acts are related to one of the 1951 Refugee Convention grounds. States should, therefore, give utmost attention to such child-specific forms and manifestations of persecution as well as gender-based violence in national refugee status-determination procedures.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2005
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- The principle of equality of treatment requires States to eliminate any discrimination against migrant children and to adopt appropriate and gender-sensitive provisions to overcome educational barriers. This means that, where necessary, targeted measures are needed, including additional language education, additional staff and other intercultural support, without discrimination of any kind. States are encouraged to dedicate staff to facilitating access to education for migrant children and to promoting the integration of migrant children into schools. In addition, States should take measures aimed at prohibiting and preventing any kind of educational segregation, to ensure that migrant children learn the new language as a means for effective integration. State efforts should include the provision of early childhood education as well as psychosocial support. States should also provide formal and non-formal learning opportunities, teacher training and life skills classes.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- The Committees strongly urge States to expeditiously reform regulations and practices that prevent migrant children, in particular undocumented children, from registering at schools and educational institutions. States should also develop effective firewalls between educational institutions and immigration authorities and prohibit the sharing of students’ data as well as immigration enforcement operations on or near school premises, as these practices limit or deprive migrant children or children of migrant workers in an irregular situation of their right to education. To respect children’s right to education, States are also encouraged to avoid disruption during migration-related procedures, avoiding children having to move during the school year if possible, as well as supporting them to complete any compulsory and ongoing education courses when they reach the age of majority. While access to upper-level education is not compulsory, the principle of non-discrimination obliges States to provide available services to every child without discrimination on the basis of their migration status or other prohibited grounds.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- States are encouraged to emphasize a holistic approach to the right to health. Their national plans, policies, and strategies should address the health needs of migrant children and the vulnerable situations in which they may find themselves. Migrant children should have access to health services without being required to present a residence permit or asylum registration. Administrative and financial barriers to accessing services should be removed, including through the acceptance of alternative means of proving identity and residence, such as testimonial evidence. In addition, the Committees urge States to prohibit the sharing of patients’ data between health institutions and immigration authorities as well as immigration enforcement operations on or near public health premises, as these effectively limit or deprive migrant children or children born to migrant parents in an irregular situation of their right to health. Effective firewalls should be put in place in order to ensure their right to health.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- States should take all appropriate legislative and administrative measures, including a gender dimension, to regulate and protect the employment of migrant children with respect to the minimum age of employment and hazardous work. Given the specific risk to which migrant children are exposed, States shall also ensure that, in both law and practice, all necessary measures, including the provision of appropriate penalties, be taken by the competent authority to guarantee the effective enforcement of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and relevant international standards and that migrant children: - Enjoy fair terms of employment as well as decent working conditions, in line with internationally accepted standards - Enjoy specific protective measures regulating the hours and conditions under which children can work - Are subject to periodic medical examinations attesting to their fitness for work - Have access to justice in case of violation of their rights by public or private actors, including by ensuring effective complaints mechanisms and a firewall between labour rights and immigration enforcement
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- For migrant children for whom there are indications of trafficking, sale or other forms of sexual exploitation or who may be at risk of such acts or of child marriage, States should adopt the following measures: - Establish early identification measures to detect victims of sale, trafficking and abuse, as well as referral mechanisms, and in this regard carry out mandatory training for social workers, border police, lawyers, medical professionals and all other staff who come into contact with children - Where different migration statuses are available, the most protective status (i.e., asylum or residence on humanitarian grounds) should be applied and granting such status should be determined on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the best interests of the child - Ensure that the granting of residence status or assistance to migrant child victims of sale, trafficking or other forms of sexual exploitation is not made conditional on the initiation of criminal proceedings or their cooperation with law enforcement authorities.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Undocumented migrant children and parents dependent on residence or work permits, who can easily be made undocumented by their sponsor/employer, face risks of being reported to the immigration authorities by public service providers or other officials or by private individuals. This limits their enjoyment of human rights, including protection and access to justice, and makes them more vulnerable to violence and to labour and other types of exploitation and abuse, and could be the result of policies prioritizing the detection of migrants in irregular status instead of their protection from violence, abuse and exploitation, making children more vulnerable to experiencing violence or witnessing violence against a family member. Among other measures, effective firewalls between child protection services and immigration enforcement should be ensured.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The Committees are of the view that States should ensure that their legislation, policies, measures and practices guarantee child-sensitive due process in all migration and asylum administrative and judicial proceedings affecting the rights of children and/or those of their parents. All children, including children accompanied by parents or other legal guardians, should be treated as individual rights holders, their child-specific needs considered equally and individually and their views appropriately heard and given due weight. They should have access to administrative and judicial remedies against decisions affecting their own situation or that of their parents, to guarantee that all decisions are taken in their best interests Measures should be taken to avoid undue delays in migration/asylum procedures that could negatively affect children’s rights, including family reunification procedures. Unless it is contrary to the child’s best interests, speedy proceedings should be encouraged, provided that this does not restrict any due process guarantees.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Access to justice is a fundamental right in itself and a prerequisite for the protection and promotion of all other human rights, and as such it is of paramount importance that every child in the context of international migration is empowered to claim his/her rights. The responsibility of States parties requires structural and proactive interventions to ensure fair, effective and prompt access to justice. The Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its general comment No. 5 (2003) on general measures of implementation of the Convention, held that an effective remedy requires effective, child-sensitive procedures. It further outlined that such procedures should guarantee the adoption of certain specific measures in order to ensure that administrative and judicial proceedings are adapted to the needs and development of children, and that the best interests of the child is a primary consideration in all such proceedings.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- In the view of the Committees, child protection and welfare actors should take primary responsibility for children in the context of international migration. When a migrant child is first detected by immigration authorities, child protection or welfare officials should immediately be informed and be in charge of screening the child for protection, shelter and other needs. Unaccompanied and separated children should be placed in the national/local alternative care system, preferably in family-type care with their own family when available, or otherwise in community care when family is not available. These decisions have to be taken within a child-sensitive due process framework, including the child’s rights to be heard, to have access to justice and to challenge before a judge any decision that could deprive him or her of liberty, and should take into account the vulnerabilities and needs of the child, including those based on their gender, disability, age, mental health, pregnancy or other conditions.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The definition of the child under the Convention on the Rights of the Child provides rights and protection until the age of 18. The Committees are concerned that children between 15 and 18 years tend to be provided much lower levels of protection, and are sometimes considered as adults or left with an ambiguous migration status until they reach 18 years of age. States are urged to ensure that equal standards of protection are provided to every child, including those above the age of 15 years and regardless of their migration status. In accordance with the Guidelines for Alternative Care of Children, States should provide adequate follow-up, support and transition measures for children as they approach 18 years of age, particularly those leaving a care context, including by ensuring access to long-term regular migration status and reasonable opportunities for completing education, access to decent jobs and integrating into the society they live in. The child should be adequately prepared for independent living during this transition period, and competent authorities shall ensure adequate follow-up of the individual situation. The Committees additionally encourage States to take protective and support measures beyond the age of 18 years.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- The present joint general comment was adopted at the same time as joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights of children in the context of international migration. While that general comment and the present one are stand-alone documents in their own right, the two complement each other and should be read and implemented together. The drafting process included a series of global and regional consultations held between May and July 2017 with representatives of key stakeholders and experts, including children and migrant organizations, in Bangkok, Beirut, Berlin, Dakar, Geneva, Madrid and Mexico City. In addition, the Committees received more than 80 written contributions from States, United Nations agencies and entities, civil society organizations, national human rights institutions and other stakeholders from every region of the world between November 2015 and August 2017.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights ... 2017, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- The Committees are concerned that policies or practices that deny or restrict basic rights, including labour rights and other social rights, to adult migrants owing to their nationality, statelessness, ethnic origin or migration status may directly or indirectly affect children’s right to life, survival and development. Such policies would also obstruct the design of comprehensive migration policies and the efforts made to bring migration into the mainstream of development policies. Therefore, in line with article 18 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, States parties should ensure that children’s development, and their best interests, are taken fully into account when it comes to policies and decisions aimed at regulating their parents’ access to social rights, regardless of their migration status. Similarly, children’s right to development, and their best interests, should be taken into consideration when States address, in general or individually, the situation of migrants residing irregularly, including through the implementation of regularization mechanisms as a means to promote integration and prevent exploitation and marginalization of migrant children and their families.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights ... 2017, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- States parties should take all measures appropriate to fully promote and facilitate the participation of children, including providing them with the opportunity to be heard in any administrative or judicial proceeding related to their or their families’ cases, including any decision on care, shelter or migration status. Children should be heard independently of their parents, and their individual circumstances should be included in the consideration of the family’s cases. Specific best-interests assessments should be carried out in those procedures, and the child’s specific reasons for the migration should be taken into account. Regarding the significant relationship between the right to be heard and the best interests of the child, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has already stated that there can be no correct application of article 3 if the components of article 12 are not respected. Likewise, article 3 reinforces the functionality of article 12, facilitating the essential role of children in all decisions affecting their lives.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights ... 2017, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its general comment No. 12, underlines that adequate measures to guarantee the right to be heard should be implemented in the context of international migration, as children who come to a country could be in a particularly vulnerable and disadvantaged situation. For that reason, it is critical to implement fully their right to express their views on all aspects affecting their lives, including as an integral part of immigration and asylum proceedings, and for their views to be given due weight. Children may have their own migration projects and migration-driving factors, and policies and decisions cannot be effective or appropriate without their participation. The Committee also emphasizes that these children should be provided with all relevant information, inter alia, on their rights, the services available, means of communication, complaints mechanisms, the immigration and asylum processes and their outcomes. Information should be provided in the child’s own language in a timely manner, in a child-sensitive and age-appropriate manner, in order to make their voice heard and to be given due weight in the proceedings.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights ... 2017, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- [The Committees stress that States parties should:] If determined that it is in the best interests of the child to be returned, an individual plan should be prepared, together with the child where possible, for his or her sustainable reintegration. The Committees stress that countries of origin, transit, destination and return should develop comprehensive frameworks with dedicated resources for the implementation of policies and comprehensive inter-institutional coordination mechanisms. Such frameworks should ensure, in cases of children returning to their countries of origin or third countries, their effective reintegration through a rights-based approach, including immediate protection measures and long-term solutions, in particular effective access to education, health, psychosocial support, family life, social inclusion, access to justice and protection from all forms of violence. In all such situations, a quality rights-based follow-up by all involved authorities, including independent monitoring and evaluation, should be ensured. The Committees highlight that return and reintegration measures should be sustainable from the perspective of the child’s right to life, survival and development.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights ... 2017, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- In order to implement the best interests principle in migration-related procedures or decisions that could affect children, the Committees stress the need to conduct systematically best-interests assessments and determination procedures as part of, or to inform, migration-related and other decisions that affect migrant children. As the Committee on the Rights of the Child explains in its general comment No. 14, the child’s best interests should be assessed and determined when a decision is to be made. A “best-interests assessment” involves evaluating and balancing all the elements necessary to make a decision in the specific situation for a specific individual child or group of children. A “best-interests determination” is a formal process with strict procedural safeguards designed to determine the child’s best interests on the basis of the best-interests assessment. In addition, assessing the child’s best interests is a unique activity that should be undertaken in each individual case and in the light of the specific circumstances of each child or group of children, including age, sex, level of maturity, whether the child or children belong to a minority group and the social and cultural context in which the child or children find themselves.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights ... 2017, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- The Committees recommend that States parties adopt adequate measures to combat discrimination on any grounds and to protect children from multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, throughout the migration process, including in and after returning to the country of origin, and/or as a result of their migration status. In order to achieve such a goal, States parties should strengthen efforts to combat xenophobia, racism and discrimination and take all appropriate measures to combat such attitudes and practices, and to collect and disseminate accurate, reliable and updated data and information in that regard. States should also promote the social inclusion and full integration of families affected by international migration into the host society and implement programmes for improving knowledge about migration and addressing any negative perceptions regarding migrants, with the aim of protecting children affected by international migration and their families from violence, discrimination, harassment and bullying, and fulfilling their access to rights enshrined in the Conventions and other conventions ratified by each State. In doing so, special attention should be paid to gender-specific and any other challenges and vulnerabilities that may intersect.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights ... 2017, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child have a duty to ensure that the principles and provisions therein are fully reflected and given legal effect in relevant domestic legislation, policies and practices (art. 4). In all actions concerning children, States should be guided by the overarching principles of non-discrimination (art. 2); the best interests of the child (art. 3); the right to life, survival and development (art. 6); and the right of the child to express his or her views in all matters affecting him or her, and to have those views taken into account (art. 12). States should adopt measures, including legislative and other policy tools, aimed at ensuring that those principles are upheld in practice and brought into the mainstream of all policies affecting children in the context of international migration, and in the interpretation and analysis of the specific obligations as clarified in joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of children in the context of international migration in countries of origin, transit, destination and return.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights ... 2017, para. 16
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- States parties should develop a systematic rights-based policy on the collection and public dissemination of qualitative and quantitative data on all children in the context of international migration in order to inform a comprehensive policy aimed at the protection of their rights. Such data should be disaggregated by nationality, migration status, gender, age, ethnicity, disability and all other relevant statuses to monitor intersectional discrimination. The Committees stress the importance of developing indicators to measure the implementation of the rights of all children in the context of international migration, including through a human rights-based approach to data collection and analysis on the causes of unsafe migration of children and/or families. Such information should be available for all stakeholders, including children, in full respect of privacy rights and data protection standards. Civil society organizations and other concerned actors should be able to participate in the process of collecting and evaluating data.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights ... 2017, para. 9
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- The present joint general comment addresses the human rights of all children in the context of international migration, whether they have migrated with their parents or primary caregivers, are unaccompanied or separated, have returned to their country of origin, were born to migrant parents in countries of transit or destination, or remained in their country of origin while one or both parents migrated to another country, and regardless of their or their parents’ migration or residence status (migration status). The non-discrimination principle of the Convention on the Rights of the Child obliges States parties to respect and ensure the rights set forth in the Convention to all children, whether they are considered, inter alia, migrants in regular or irregular situations, asylum seekers, refugees, stateless and/or victims of trafficking, including in situations of return or deportation to the country of origin, irrespective of the child’s or the parents’ or legal guardians’ nationality, migration status or statelessness.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights ... 2017, para. 6a
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- [The present joint general comment also builds on other United Nations resolutions and reports, various outputs of the United Nations human rights mechanisms and United Nations, intergovernmental and civil society initiatives relating to children in the context of international migration, including:] The statement by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the duties of States towards refugees and migrants under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/2017/1), in which the Committee recalled in particular that “protection from discrimination cannot be made conditional upon an individual having a regular status in the host country”, and also recalled that “all children within a State, including those with an undocumented status, had a right to receive education and access to adequate food and affordable health care”;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights ... 2017, para. 1
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- The present joint general comment was adopted at the same time as joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of children in the context of international migration in countries of origin, transit, destination and return. While that general comment and the present one are stand-alone documents in their own right, the two complement each other and should be read and implemented together. The drafting process included a series of global and regional consultations held between May and July 2017 with representatives of key stakeholders and experts, including children and migrant organizations, in Bangkok, Beirut, Berlin, Dakar, Geneva, Madrid and Mexico City. In addition, the Committees received more than 80 written contributions from States, United Nations agencies and entities, civil society organizations, national human rights institutions and other stakeholders from every region of the world between November 2015 and August 2017.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 68
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- Indigenous children who have been displaced or become refugees should be given special attention and humanitarian assistance in a culturally sensitive manner. Safe return and restitution of collective and individual property should be promoted.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2009
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The rights of children with disabilities 2007, para. 79
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- Certain disabilities result directly from the conditions that have led some individuals to become refugees or internally displaced persons, such as human-caused or natural disasters. For example, landmines and unexploded ordnance kill and injure refugee, internally displaced and resident children long after armed conflicts have ceased. Refugee and internally displaced children with disabilities are vulnerable to multiple forms of discrimination, particularly refugee and internally displaced girls with disabilities, who are more often than boys subject to abuse, including sexual abuse, neglect and exploitation. The Committee strongly emphasizes that refugee and internally displaced children with disabilities should be given high priority for special assistance, including preventative assistance, access to adequate health and social services, including psychosocial recovery and social reintegration. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has made children a policy priority and adopted several documents to guide its work in that area, including the Guidelines on Refugee Children in 1988, which are incorporated into UNHCR Policy on Refugee Children. The Committee also recommends that States parties take into account the Committee's general comment No. 6 (2005) on the treatment of unaccompanied and separated children outside of their country of origin.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2007
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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