A/75/183 children’s physical, social, emotional and cognitive skills development, depriving them of their fundamental rights, and their future. 83. To meet States’ commitment to eliminate immigration detention of children, whether unaccompanied or with families, a paradigm shift is required to transition away from a focus on enforcement and coercion due to the criminalization of migration and towards providing human rights-based alternative care and reception through engagement-based solutions, such as a case management approach. 84. According to the information provided by States and other relevant stakeholders, immigration detention of children is effectively avoidable, whether through explicit prohibition under domestic law or by refraining from such practices, despite prohibition not being enshrined in domestic law. 85. Promising initiatives in a number of countries showcase significant efforts made by States and many other actors to provide migrant children and their families with alternative care and reception arrangements that aim at fulfilling the best interests of the child, along with their rights to liberty and family life and other essential services while their migration status is being resolved. It is also proven that there are practical alternative measures before removals. Recommendations 86. The Special Rapporteur calls on States to end child immigration detention and provide adequate alternative care and reception for all migrant children and their families, which promote children’s rights and well-being. More specifically, States are urged to: (a) Establish in domestic law an explicit prohibition of immigration detention of all migrant children under the age of 18, including unaccompanied children and children with their families. Policy framework and quality assurance processes should be established to ensure that the prohibition is effectively implemented and that migrant children are provided with the strongest protection; (b) Release all migrant children, both unaccompanied children and children with families, from immigration detention and place them in appropriate alternative care and non-custodial reception facilities that promote and respect their human rights; (c) Strengthen existing national child protection and welfare systems and integrate unaccompanied migrant children into these systems without any discrimination, irrespective of the child’s migration status. Child protection and welfare authorities, rather than immigration authorities, should take primary responsibility for the care and safety of migrant children. Child protection authorities should be informed and involved from the outset upon the identification of an unaccompanied or separated migrant child; (d) Promote and provide capable, committed and sufficient resources for the development and implementation of alternative care and reception arrangements for migrant children and their families, including by redirecting some resources currently expended on immigration detention; (e) Promote family unity throughout asylum and other migration-related procedures, refrain from adopting any policy that would lead to systematic family separation and take appropriate measures to prevent and respond to family separation in the context of international migration; 20-09734 21/23