A/HRC/14/30 D. The right to adequate housing for migrant children 56. The right to adequate housing is specifically guaranteed to children under article 27 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognizes the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. Where necessary, States are also obliged to provide parents and others responsible for the child with material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition, clothing and housing. This right is not limited to children who are nationals, but extends to all children, including asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children, irrespective of their nationality, immigration status or statelessness.80 57. A lack of adequate housing may have a profound impact on children, given the integral link between children’s housing rights and living conditions, and their cognitive, physical, cultural, emotional and social development. A safe and secure living environment is crucial for them in realizing a whole range of other human rights, such as the rights to education, health and personal security. 58. The stark reality is that this right remains unfulfilled in many parts of the world, often owing to the higher risk of poverty experienced by migrant children as compared to national children.81 A study shows that migrant children are more likely than national children to live in overcrowded housing, which may have a negative impact on their development.82 The concern is heightened with respect to irregular migrant children, whose right to adequate housing is dictated by the conditions of social exclusion that their families are subjected to. The lack of access to adequate housing for irregular migrant parents means that their children are deprived of housing as well.83 The Special Rapporteur has also been informed of cases where the authorities are willing to provide housing assistance to irregular migrant children, but not to their families. This gives rise to difficult situations where children must either choose to live with their families at risk of homelessness, or separate from them to receive housing assistance.84 59. Further, concern is expressed in particular with respect to independent, unaccompanied migrant children. Unaccompanied children are particularly vulnerable to social exclusion and often have limited access to housing, due to the absence of adults’ assistance either via social networks or housing markets.85 Thus, independent and unaccompanied migrant children are more likely to be homeless or to live in collective dwelling or temporary homes of lower quality, such as shacks and rooms, compared to national children or migrant children with parents or guardians.86 A study conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) shows that the vast majority of independent migrant children in developing countries often sleep on the streets and in markets, shop fronts and kiosks, which exposes them to inadequate sleep, sexual harassment, robbery and 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 16 Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 6 (2005), para. 12. Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), Undocumented Children in Europe: Invisible Victims of Immigration Restrictions (Brussels, 2009), p. 71. UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, Children in Immigrant Families in Eight Affluent Countries: Their Family, National and International Context (Florence, 2009), p. 58. PICUM, Undocumented Children, p. 74. Ibid. Shahin Yaqub, “Independent child migrants in developing countries: unexplored links in migration and development”, Innocenti Working Paper No. 2009-01 (Florence, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2009), pp. 49–50. Shahin Yaqub, “Child migrants with and without parents: census-based estimates of scale and characteristics in Argentina, Chile and South Africa”, Innocenti Discussion Paper IDP No. 2009-02 (Florence, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2009), p. 13. GE.10-12615