Committee on the Rights of the Child

Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

Background

This joint general comment was adopted as 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.

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 standalone 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.

Summary

This joint general comment examines the following rights:

1. Legal obligations of States parties to protect the rights of children in the context of international migration in their territory
2. Right to liberty (articles 16 and 17 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child)
3. Due process guarantees and access to justice (articles 16, 17 and 18 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; articles 12 and 40 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child)
4. Right to a name, identity, and a nationality (article 29 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; articles 7 and 8 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child)
5. Family life (articles 14, 17 and 44 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; articles 9, 10, 11, 16, 18, 19, 20 and 27 (4) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child)
6. Protection from all forms of violence and abuse, including exploitation, child labour and abduction, and sale or traffic in children (articles 11 and 27 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; articles 19, 26, 32, 34, 35 and 36 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child)
7. Right to protection from economic exploitation, including underage and hazardous work, employment conditions and social security (articles 25, 27, 52, 53, 54 and 55 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; articles 26 and 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child)
8. Right to an adequate standard of living (article 45 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; article 27 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child)
9. Right to health (articles 28 and 45 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; articles 23, 24 and 39 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child)
10. Right to education and professional training (articles 30, 43 and 45 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; articles 28, 29, 30 and 31 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child)