A/HRC/14/30 departure information and training programmes which raise migrant women’s and girls’ awareness of potential risks to their health.96 83. States should ensure the provision of standardized and authentic health certificates if required by host countries and oblige prospective employers to purchase medical insurance for migrant workers. All required pre-departure HIV/AIDS testing or other pre-departure health examinations must be respectful of the human rights of migrants and be accompanied with health information and health promotion efforts. Special attention should be paid to voluntariness, the provision of free or affordable services and to the problems of stigmatization. 84. The best interest of the child requires that States take specific measures to ensure that all migrant children are able to enjoy the right to health, including continued access to health, as well as the rights related to health, such as the right to obtain a birth certificate. The right to health for unaccompanied children must be ensured immediately upon arrival, regardless of their immigration status. Furthermore, any decision to repatriate children to countries of origin should take into account the access to the right to health in those countries in the determination of what is in the child’s best interest. B. The right to adequate housing 85. States should develop a comprehensive national housing strategy taking into account the needs and circumstances of migrants, who are often vulnerable to homelessness. Through the housing strategy States should seek to address underlying factors which dictate people’s access to housing, such as low socio-economic status, gender, age and ethnicity.97 The strategy should also encompass a regular monitoring system for housing situations of migrants, both in public and private sectors, to identify and address any discriminatory practices. 86. States should formulate comprehensive criteria which provide clear and practical guidance to housing providers on what constitutes discrimination on the basis of citizenship, nationality or immigration status and their responsibilities to ensure equal access to housing by all, including migrants. 87. Creative strategies at the local level are strongly encouraged, such as depositguarantee and rent-deposit schemes, whereby a local authority or a housing association acts as a guarantor to the landlord to facilitate access to housing by migrants.98 In a similar vein, local authorities should proactively engage with landlords to promote equal access to housing through innovative programmes such as accreditation schemes for landlords, whereby the local authorities certify and approve responsible landlords.99 88. States should, at a minimum, provide migrants in irregular situations at risk of homelessness with a level of housing which ensures their dignity and allocate resources to shelters which provide assistance to migrants in irregular situations. In 96 97 98 99 GE.10-12615 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 26, para. 24 (b) (i). Heaven Crawley, “The situation of children in immigrant families in the United Kingdom”, Innocenti Working Paper No. IWP-2009-18 (Florence, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2009), p. 35. Building and Social Housing Foundation, Home from Home: Addressing the Issues of Migrant Workers’ Housing (Coalville, 2008), p. 22. Ibid., p. 33. 21