A/74/191
partners and children. 29 The same conditions apply in El Salvador, which has a
comprehensive national policy on childhood and adolescence for 2013–2023. Its aim
is to highlight the multiplicity of vulnerable situations faced by children and
adolescents, in particular those who are migrating or are children of migrant parents,
and to put in place identification and referral systems to better assist and protect
them. 30
Migration-related legislation and policies viewing women and girls through a lens
of vulnerability
33. Other countries have migration-related legislation and policies that place
migrant women and girls primarily in the “vulnerable” category, such as pregnant
women, single parents with underage children, persons subjected to torture, rape, or
other serious forms of physical, or sexual violence. 31 This is particularly the case
when it comes to legislation and policies that relate to the detention of third country
nationals. Such an approach falls short of being “gender-responsive”. To date, there
is no internationally recognized definition of “vulnerable groups”, 32 moreover a
comprehensive list of vulnerable persons is rarely provided, nor are the specific
protection needs that should apply to women and girls in immigration detention
elaborated. 33 Such categories of vulnerable persons do not fit into the existing
predefined categories, including persons of different sexual orientation and gender
identity. It should be kept in mind that situations of vulnerability are not static, but
can also evolve and develop over time, as in cases of extended detention. 34
34. For example, the Alien Law of 1980 adopted by Belgium illustrates these
limitations: article 1 defines “vulnerable groups” as including accompanied and
non-accompanied children, pregnant women, elderly persons, victims of torture, rape
and other forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence. 35 It does not, however,
spell out any standards of treatment that follow on from the de signation of individuals
and groups as vulnerable, with the exception of cases involving minors.
35. In Chile, a pregnant migrant woman is considered to be vulnerable and in need
of assistance. She can obtain a visa and can obtain access to medical care, ensuring
that pregnancy and child birth do not become a high risk. This same visa is available
for any person undergoing medical treatment. 36
36. In Mexico, a technical group for the incorporation of the gender perspective into
policies for the care and protection of migrant women has been created within the
framework of the Advisory Council on Migration Policy of the Ministry of the
Interior. The purpose of the group is to guarantee migrant women effective access to
their rights through the incorporation of a gender perspective in and to create
affirmative action through administrative rules and procedures and public policies
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29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
19-12287
Mentioned in both the submission of the Permanent Mission of Argentina and that of the
Ombudsperson of Argentina.
See submission of the Permanent Mission of El Salvador to the United Nations.
See submission of the Permanent Mission of Slovakia to the United Nations.
See OHCHR and Global Migration Group, «Principles and Guidelines, supported by practical
guidance on the human rights protection of migrants in vulnerable situations»
(https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Migration/Pages/VulnerableSituations.aspx ). See also
A/HRC/37/34/Add.1.
See submission of the Global Detention Project.
European Parliament, Briefing “Arbitrary detention of women and children for immigrationrelated purposes”, March 2016 (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/
BRIE/2016/577991/EPRS_BRI(2016)577991_EN.pdf ).
See Belgian Alien Law, 15 December 1980 (http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/cgi_loi/
change_lg.pl?language=fr&la=F&cn=1980121530&table_name=loi ).
See submission of the Women in Migration Network.
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