A/75/183 rights. Irrespective of the type of care and reception arrangements made in practice for migrant children, international human rights law requires States to ensure that education is available and accessible to every child on the basis of equal opportunity and without discrimination 7 and to ensure access to essential services such as health care services. 8 Access to appropriate health services is essential for children ’s physical, mental and cognitive skills development. 23. In the context of migration, respect for family unity and the right to family life requires States not only to refrain from actions which would result in family separations but also to take measures to maintain famil y unity and reunite separated family members. 9 Article 9 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child protects the child’s right to family and makes clear that children should never be separated from their parents or guardians unless it is considered in the child’s best interests, such as in cases of parental abuse. Furthermore, family unity is not a valid reason to justify the detention of migrant children, considering the harmful effects of detention on their health and development. International and regional experts have emphasized that when the child’s best interests require keeping the family together, the imperative requirement not to deprive the child of liberty extends to the child’s parents and requires the authorities to provide alternative measure s to detention for the entire family. 10 C. Immigration detention of children and its impact on children’s rights 24. Immigration detention of children, both alone and with their families, is always a child rights violation on its own under internation al human rights law. Regrettably, few countries in the world in their national legislation explicitly prohibit immigration detention of children. In some countries, migrant children are detained with adults; 11 in other countries, migrant children are separated from their family members and detained in different facilities. 12 Even in countries where there are policies protecting children from immigration detention, lengthy age assessment procedures or the lack of reliable age assessment tools can result in immigration detention of children. 13 In a few countries, while unaccompanied children are integrated into alternative reception systems, children with families are detained. Another worrying phenomenon is that in a number of countries, migrant children are de facto detained with their parents or guardians as “guests” in detention facilities. This practice makes detained migrant children legally invisible. 25. The detention of children in the context of international migration often leads to further violations of other human rights, such as the right to physical and mental integrity, the right to health care, the right to education and the right to family life. __________________ 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 6/23 Convention on the Rights of the Child, arts. 28 and 29; In ternational Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 13. Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 24. The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Mi grant Workers and Members of Their Families protects all migrant workers and members of their families against arbitrary or unlawful interference with family life (see art. 14); Convention on the Rights of the Child, preamble and arts. 3, 7–10, 16 and 18; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 17. See CMW/C/GC/4-CRC/C/GC/23, para. 11; Inter-American Court of Human Rights, advisory opinion OC-21/14, para. 159; and A/HRC/28/68, para. 80. Submission by the End Child Detention network. Submission by the Global Justice Clinic, NYU School of Law. Age assessment is highlighted as a challenge in most of the submissions fr om Member States. 20-09734