A/HRC/53/26 children and parents to become undocumented, making them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation and limiting their enjoyment of human rights. 52 70. The Special Rapporteur urges Governments to focus on addressing the root causes that drive people to migrate irregularly, while policies and regularization procedures should provide irregular migrants with the tools for success. For instance, free-of-charge workshops that teach migrants to be entrepreneurs can provide them with the tools to bring development into their communities and financial security for their families. Furthermore, regularization programmes should be designed and implemented in consultation with civil society organizations, particularly migrants’ associations and, where relevant, youth-led organizations. 53 The Special Rapporteur highlights the importance of creating structural conditions for migrants to thrive and contribute to society. 71. The Special Rapporteur wishes to emphasize the triple function of regularization as a central mechanism for the protection of the rights of migrants and their families, especially those who are in a particularly vulnerable situation; as a key tool for the effective implementation of a comprehensive migration policy; and as a factor that contributes to the fulfilment of the goals of numerous public policies in countries of destination. Regularization is, therefore, a protection and inclusion tool that benefits migrants, their families, destination countries and communities. In short, expanding pathways for regular migration and guaranteeing temporary regularization leading to permanent mechanisms in destination countries represent two essential aspects for compliance with the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and other international standards. 72. The Special Rapporteur recommends that States: (a) Strengthen the legal framework for the protection of all migrants in line with international human rights standards. States should take appropriate measures towards regularizing the situation of such people, considering such factors as the duration of their stay and their family situation. Progress in this area may also require legislative review and reform at the national level to establish and refine regularization mechanisms and to ensure access to legal assistance for such procedures. This may include the ratification of relevant international standards, including the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families;54 (b) Review and design regularization mechanisms and any ongoing programmes, with particular attention to the implementation of permanent regularization mechanisms on a range of grounds; (c) Ensure that international human rights law limitations to returns are included in national law and policy frameworks as permanent grounds for regularization by reviewing and reforming national legislation to comply with international human rights law obligations (e.g. the principle of non-refoulement, the right to family life, the right to private life, the best interests of the child and the right to rehabilitation of victims of torture), which may give rise to an entitlement to regularization; (d) Provide clear, efficient, affordable and accessible administrative procedures by which migrants, including undocumented ones, can apply for and renew their residence status to prevent people from falling into irregularity due to inefficient administrative migration policies; (e) Ensure that fee waivers are available for children, young people and people in poverty and that any fees levied are proportionate and do not exceed the costs of the services provided to process applications and issue permits; 52 53 54 GE.23-06641 See submission from UNICEF. See submission from the Migration Youth and Children Platform. OSCE, “Regularization of migrants in an irregular situation”. https://www.osce.org/odihr/494251. 17

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