A/64/213 He visited London, as well as Heathrow airport and the districts of Dover and Gosport. At Heathrow airport, he was given the opportunity to observe operations and was briefed on the processing of European Union and non-European Union passengers and the iris inspection, watch house, fingerprinting, photographing and screening interview processes. He also visited holding centres in terminals 1 and 2. In the districts of Dover and Gosport, the Special Rapporteur visited immigration removal centres, where he was provided with the opportunity to interview inmates charged with immigration-related offences. 20. At the conclusion of his visit, the Special Rapporteur highlighted the fact that migration is recognized as one of the great issues of our time and perceived as a highly sensitive, controversial and contentious issue at the policymaking and decision-making levels in the United Kingdom, requiring a multilateral and multidimensional approach. He noted that the Government had made a genuine effort to deliver a migration policy, ensuring its prerogative to determine the conditions of stay and removal of non-nationals while being consistent with human rights obligations, but highlighted that there seemed to be a significant number of allegations of cases of prolonged detention of irregular migrants waiting for deportation. The Special Rapporteur was encouraged by a number of good practices in the United Kingdom in relation to the treatment afforded to non-national unaccompanied minors, and invited the Government to strengthen efforts to introduce holistic age-assessment procedures in order to diminish subjective criteria for age assessment. The Special Rapporteur will submit a report on his visit to the United Kingdom to the Human Rights Council at a session in 2010. III. Issues in focus A. The protection of children in the context of migration 21. The Special Rapporteur submitted a thematic report to the Human Rights Council on the protection of children in the context of migration (see A/HRC/11/7), and wishes to draw the attention of the General Assembly to some of the issues that he deems to be worthy of special attention. 1. General background and protection gaps 22. The Special Rapporteur observed that children have always been part of migration and affected by it in various ways. In countries of origin, children left behind by migrant family members are affected. In countries of transit, children on the move are affected also at the pre-departure and arrival stages of the migration process. In countries of destination and host countries, migrant children are affected at the arrival, post-arrival, long-term-stay and integration stages of the process. Although migration potentially enhances a child’s opportunities and future choices, many forms of migration, as well as the treatment provided to children during the migration process, can pose serious threats to children’s rights. 23. The experience of migration for children may include a variety of situations. The most common way for children to move across borders is with their parents or accompanied by extended family members or other adults. However, children are also increasingly seeking migration opportunities to move across borders autonomously and unaccompanied. Children are also increasingly part of mixed 8 09-43777