A/HRC/38/41 employers are followed up, even beyond their return. Interstate cooperation and formalization through bilateral and multilateral agreements are in that regard essential. IV. Conclusions and recommendations 86. All migrants are entitled to the protection of their human rights, without discrimination and regardless of their status. Migrants in irregular situations require individual screening and assessment procedures so that their specific situations of vulnerability are effectively identified and the legal protection frameworks that meet their needs, including under international human rights law, may be determined. Failure to provide such procedures constitutes a violation of due process guarantees and the international principles of non-refoulement and the best interests of the child, among others. The protection of the economic, social and cultural rights of migrants, such as access to an adequate standard of living, food, water, health and education, and their civil and political rights, such as access to justice, in countries of origin, transit and destination must be ensured. 87. The return of migrants who do not meet international or national legal standards to remain in their host country should be conducted in safety, with due regard for dignity, humanity and respect for human rights, and in compliance with international law, on the basis of the primacy of voluntary returns; cooperation between States of origin and reception; and enhanced reception and reintegration assistance for those who are returned. Given the potentially dramatic consequences, including rights violations, of forced or coerced returns, priority should be given to independent and voluntary returns at all times. 88. States should facilitate the voluntarily return of migrants — fully informed, free of coercion and with sufficient valid alternatives, such as effective access to temporary permits for work, family unity, study or humanitarian purposes, and opportunities for permanent residency and citizenship — to their countries of origin or citizenship, including through cooperation on consular assistance and issuance of the necessary travel documents. A return cannot be considered voluntary if a migrant decides to return in order to, inter alia, avoid deportation or detention, flee from abusive or exploitative situations in destination or transit countries, or avoid the deprivation of socioeconomic rights in the destination country. 89. Forced returns should always be a measure of last resort, and only follow a fair and efficient process guaranteeing that all legal safeguards have been provided. No return should be implemented without due process of law, in a legal procedure where the migrant is effectively and properly represented and has access to effective remedies. All appeals and remedies, and procedural guarantees, should have a suspensive effect on deportation. Furthermore, no one should be returned without proper oversight by an independent post-return human rights monitoring mechanism. 90. When migrants in an irregular situation are long established in a host country, lack ties to their country of origin or would otherwise face violations of their human rights upon return, alternatives to forced returns, such as regularization, temporary or long-term options for entry and stay, access to citizenship or the facilitation of family reunifications, are preferable. States should offer migrants in need of human rights protection but who do not qualify for refugee status temporary or long-term protection from return. 91. Long-term solutions and safe, regular, accessible and affordable channels, rather than “quick fixes” (such as readmission agreements), are needed so as to ensure the protection of the human rights of migrants. Liability for human rights violations or other breaches of international law resulting from the actions of international or regional organizations during return procedures should be subject to investigation, and such stakeholders should be held accountable. 92. In order to ensure the respect for human rights of migrants in the context of returns, States and other stakeholders should: 18