A/79/213 resorting to negative coping mechanisms, such as child marriage or child labour. 113 Fear of being reported to immigration authorities can create a barrier to migrant children’s access to key services such as education and health care and “firewalls” are therefore essential. Firewalls create a strict and real separation between immigration enforcement and public services, so that immigration authorities cannot access information on the migration status of visitors to public services, and public service providers are not required to investigate or share information on the migration status of their users. 114 44. Migrant children must be included in national education systems and other non-formal learning opportunities as soon as possible on arrival, with positive measures in place to remove regulatory, administrative, financial, social, cultural and linguistic barriers that hinder access to schooling (including factors related to documentat ion, recognition of prior learning, gender, age, disability, mental health, discrimination, bullying and xenophobia). Efforts must also be made to close the digital divide fo r migrant and displaced children in national digitization efforts to improve connectivity and equal access to digitally enabled education and learning opportunities. 115 The Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families reiterates the right to education for children of migrant workers in destination countries, stating that access to education should be provided on the basis of equality of treatment with nationals and access to public preschool arrangements and schools should not be limited due to irregular migration status of children or their parents. 116 45. Importantly, schools are places of first integration for migrant children and can provide a bridge between migrant and local children and families by fostering dialogue, mutual understanding and social relationships. 117 This helps to build social cohesion and overcome discrimination, supporting migrant children’s inclusion in schools and communities and retention in education and learning. 118 However, children in migration contexts frequently experience stigmatization, discrimination and xenophobia, despite the resilience they have shown on migration journeys and the enormous contributions that migrant communities, including children, make to countries of destination and origin. 119 Experiences of exclusion and feelings of vulnerability for migrant and displaced children can be compounded by a lack of information about, and access to, their rights and support services, as well as social and financial barriers such as language, culture and lack of income, together with fear of detection, detention and deportation if undocumented. 120 46. Inclusive social protection measures can significantly reduce vulnerabilities for children and families in migration settings, reducing poverty, facilitating access to basic services, improving the well-being of children and parents and reducing the risks of negative coping strategies. This involves equity-driven and rights-based universal systems that provide social protection to every person when needed across the life cycle. 121 It is responsive to the needs of all children and sensitive to particular __________________ 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 24-13410 Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, “Protecting the rights of children on the move in times of crisis”. A/73/178/Rev.1, para. 33. UNICEF, “Education, children on the move and inclusion in education” ( 2022) p. 13. International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, art. 30. IOM, “Youth and migration: Engaging youth as key partners in migration governance”, International Dialogue on Migration No. 29 (2020), p. 40. UNICEF, “Education, children on the move”, p. xii. A/HRC/56/54, para. 51. UNICEF, “Protected on paper?: An analysis of Nordic country responses to asylum -seeking children” (2018), p. 62. Rebecca Holmes and Christina Lowe, “Strengthening inclusive social protection systems for displaced children and their families” (London, ODI, and New York, UNICEF, 2023). 17/24