A/64/213 Equality in access to education for migrant children 70. The Special Rapporteur also welcomes the efforts of host countries to improve equality in access to education for migrant children. This is the case in a number of developed countries, including Japan, where migrant children, regardless of their immigration status, are allowed to enrol in public schools free of charge. It is also the case Uruguay (law 18.250, art. 11) and Argentina (law 25.871, art. 8). Including the protection of children left behind in laws, policies and programmes 71. The Special Rapporteur praises the initiatives of some States to include the protection of children left behind by migrating family members in national laws, policies and programmes. A good example is the case of Romania, where, in response to calls from non-governmental organizations, the mass media and local authorities, the National Authority for the Protection of Children’s Rights launched a process to identify and constantly monitor children whose parents had gone to work abroad after 2006. Furthermore, by order No. 219 of 2006, local authorities are responsible for identifying cases of children left behind, and parents who go abroad on employment contracts have an obligation to notify local authorities of their intention to leave and tell them who will be in charge of caring for the children. Including migrant children in early childhood services 72. The Special Rapporteur commends efforts undertaken by a number of countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, including Germany and Canada, to ensure that migrant children benefit from early childhood services aimed at developing children’s capacities in general, while also addressing specific issues, such as command of language among children who have little opportunity to speak the local language in their families or neighbourhoods. C. Main challenges 73. The following paragraphs outline some of the observations and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur with respect to some of the main human rights challenges in the context of migration, with particular emphasis on the protection of children. Combating discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance against migrants 74. The Special Rapporteur wishes to draw attention to the interconnection between xenophobic and racist attacks against migrants and their non-national status. In many cases, there are no legal channels for migration, which leads to irregular migration and often produces anti-migrant responses within society. The increase of such responses as a result of the global financial crisis should be considered as a warning that xenophobic outbreaks may be on the rise. 75. The Special Rapporteur also wants to draw attention to the problem of discrimination, which in some instances arises when conditions of labour migration involve situations of abuse, not only by groups and individuals connected with organized crime who sell identity papers to potential migrants, but also by 09-43777 17