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and local non-governmental organizations, international human rights mechanisms,
consular services), and recognize the role played by civil society and local communities in
addressing this and other issues concerning the protection of migrant children.
114. States should recognize the important role played by consular offices in the protection
of migrant children, and those offices should share good practices and strengthen
cooperation.
115. States should pay special attention to the training of officials working with separated
and unaccompanied children and dealing with their cases. States should ensure that all
immigration officials in contact with children are aware of the principles and provisions of
the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
116. States should recognize the need to allocate sufficient resources, including budgetary
resources, to institutions and programmes working with migrant children deprived of their
liberty.
117. State authorities should ensure that private companies in charge of managing
detention facilities act in conformity with international human rights standards.
Protecting children in countries of destination
118 States should protect and respect the human rights of migrant children, irrespective
of their migration status, including the rights to basic social services for all children, in
particular the rights to food, health, education and an adequate standard of living, as well
as access to justice. Dialogue and cooperation between Governments of States of origin and
those of destination is highly encouraged, to ensure the fulfilment of these rights.
119. The Special Rapporteur recommends the development of strategies to pay special
attention to migrant children in order to guarantee their access, on an equal basis and
regardless of legal status, to the same rights as those of children nationals of the country
concerned.
120. The Special Rapporteur encourages States to take effective measures to guarantee the
birth registration of children born outside their parents’ country of origin and to uphold
the principle of avoiding statelessness, and highlights the importance of harmonizing
migration policies with public policies concerning childhood, adolescence and the family.
121. States should recognize the importance of strengthening institutes for the protection
of children and adolescents, including by increasing their budgets.
122. The Special Rapporteur recommends that Governments in countries of transit and
destination encourage greater harmony, tolerance and respect among migrants,
asylum-seekers, refugees and the rest of society, with a view to eliminating acts of racism,
xenophobia and other forms of related intolerance directed against migrants. States that
have not eliminated the general barriers to the enjoyment of human rights by migrant
children and their families, especially those encountered by children who are
undocumented or have an irregular status, should do so.