Human Rights of Migrants Migration and the Human Rights of the Child

A/HRC/RES/12/6View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2009.

What’s in this document?

28 operative paragraphs

Calls upon States to promote and protect effectively the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, especially those of children, regardless of their status, in conformity with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international instruments to which they are party, and therefore:

Underlines that the international legal framework for the protection of the child applies irrespective of his/her migration status and that of his/her parents or family members, and calls upon States to respect and ensure the protection of the human rights of every child within their jurisdiction, without discrimination of any kind;

Calls upon States to establish or strengthen policies and programmes aimed at addressing the situation of children in the context of migration that have a human rights-based approach and are based on general principles, such as the best interests of the child, non-discrimination, participation and survival and development;

Also calls upon States that have not signed and ratified or acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocols thereto, and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families to consider doing so as a matter of priority;

Also calls upon States of origin to take appropriate measures to promote and protect effectively the rights of children who are left behind in their country of origin by migrating family members, including by:

Development of data on the situation of children left behind in countries of origin in order to better understand the impact of migration processes on their well-being and enjoyment of their human rights;

Undertaking, in cooperation with relevant organizations, information campaigns with a child perspective aimed at clarifying prospects, limitations, potential risks and rights in the event of migration, in order to enable everyone, in particular children and their family members, to make informed decisions and to prevent them from becoming victims of trafficking or falling prey to transnational organized networks of smugglers or organized criminal groups;

Strengthening relevant national institutions to address the particular needs of children left behind in their country of origin;

Further calls upon States to protect the human rights of children in the context of migration, and therefore:

Calls upon States parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the supplementing protocols thereto, namely, the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, to implement them fully, and calls upon States that have not yet ratified or acceded to them to consider doing so as a matter of priority;

Encourages States to establish institutionalized services and implement programmes to provide age- and gender-sensitive support and protection to migrant children, with due regard for the specific needs of children in vulnerable situations, such as unaccompanied children, girls, children with disabilities and those who may be in need of international refugee protection;

Requests all States to take concrete measures to prevent the violation of the human rights of migrant children while in transit, and to train public officials to detect and treat them respectfully, in a sensitive and age-appropriate manner and in accordance with their international obligations;

Calls upon States to ensure that migrant children, especially those who are unaccompanied and those who are victims of violence, exploitation, persecution and conflict, receive special protection and assistance, in accordance with their international obligations;

Encourages all States to apply a gender perspective when developing migration policies and programmes in order to take the necessary measures to better protect girls against dangers and abuse during migration;

Urges States to ensure that repatriation mechanisms allow for the identification and special protection of children, and that repatriation processes fully respect the rights of the child and take into account, in conformity with their international obligations and commitments, the principles of the best interests of the child and non-refoulement, and family reunification;

Reaffirms that the arrest, imprisonment or detention of a child should be in conformity with the law and the international obligations of the State, and recalls in this context article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which provides that such measures should be taken only as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time, and urges States to protect effectively the rights of children affected by the detention of their parents, guardians or family members because of their migratory status and, in this regard:

Encourages States to consider positively alternatives to detention for children and the family group, when children or their parents are detained on the sole basis of their migratory status, recalling in this context the conclusions and recommendations of human rights mechanisms that the treatment of irregular migration of children as a criminal offence can have a negative impact on the enjoyment of their human rights, and taking into account the necessary balance between the need to protect family unity and the best interests of the child;

Reaffirms emphatically the duty of States parties to ensure full respect for and observance of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, in particular with regard to the right of all foreign nationals, regardless of their immigration status, to communicate with a consular official of the sending State in the event of arrest, imprisonment, custody or detention, and the obligation of the receiving State to inform the foreign national without delay of his or her rights under the Convention;

Calls upon States of destination to protect effectively the human rights of children in the context of migration, without discrimination of any kind and, in this regard:

To ensure for migrant children, regardless of their legal status, the enjoyment of all human rights and, in accordance with their national laws and any relevant international obligations, appropriate access to health care and social services;

To prevent and eliminate discriminatory policies that deny migrant children access to education, regardless of their migratory status;

To ensure that every child preserves his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations as recognized by law, without unlawful interference, including by ensuring the registration and issuance of birth certificates for every child, irrespective of his or her immigration status and that of his or her parents or family members;

To take all reasonable steps to avoid the difficulties associated with statelessness for migrant children, in line with international obligations;

To deal with applications to enter or leave a State for the purpose of family reunification in a positive, humane and expeditious manner, while ensuring that the submission of such requests entail no adverse consequences for the applicants and for the members of their family;

To consider the possibility of adopting immigration programmes that allow migrants to integrate fully into the host countries, facilitate family reunification and promote a harmonious and tolerant environment;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to promote and raise awareness of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to support, as appropriate, the building of greater synergies between the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and to strengthen cooperation for the protection of migrant children;

Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to elaborate and disseminate training and awareness-raising material on the rights of children in the context of migration, and to continue to contribute to national efforts in the development and implementation of policies and programmes that promote and protect their rights and, upon the request of States, to continue to provide assistance in the training of immigration officials;

Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a study on challenges and best practices in the implementation of the international framework for the protection of the rights of the child in the context of migration, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including States, regional organizations, civil society organizations and national human rights institutions, and requests that the study be available on the website of the Office prior to the fifteenth session of the Council, and to disseminate it to all relevant international forums.

The resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of the Council on its twelfth session (A/HRC/12/50), chap. I.

Human Rights of Migrants Migration and the Human Rights of the Child

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