A/HRC/11/7 page 24 104. States should recognize that all practices and norms implying a restriction or a deprivation of liberty of children in the context of migration must respect minimum standards as defined in international human rights instruments. 105. The Special Rapporteur recalls that, as provided in article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, detention of children should be a measure of last resort and should only be taken for the shortest period of time possible. He also recalls that deprivation of liberty of children in the context of migration should never have a punitive nature. 106. The Special Rapporteur furthermore recalls that migrants should not be deprived of liberty as a sole consequence of their migratory status and that, according to general comment No. 6 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, as a general rule, unaccompanied migrant children should not be detained. 107. The Special Rapporteur encourages States to provide alternatives to detention for the family group when parents are detained on the sole basis of migratory status, keeping in mind the necessary balance between the need to protect family unity and the best interest of the child. Exceptional migration-related detention of children should be done in places ensuring the integral protection and well-being of the child, taking due consideration for the fulfilment of the child’s rights to education, health care, recreation, consular assistance and legal representation, among others. 108. States should bear in mind that children should be kept separate from adults, or when housed with families, they should have accommodation distinct from other adults. 109. The Special Rapporteur recalls that the causes and circumstances leading to the deprivation of liberty of migrant children should be previously defined by law and provide for adequate and effective remedies, including judicial review, in order to avoid arbitrary detention and guarantee access to legal services. 110. The Special Rapporteur recommends the development of alternatives to deprivation of liberty, such as sheltered housing and alternative care with national child protection services. 111. The Special Rapporteur recalls that irregular migration should not be criminalized and migrants, especially children, should not be detained in penitentiaries or facilities for criminal detention, and they should have, inter alia, the right to legal advice, an interpreter, legal review, to have contact with the external world as well as access to education and health services. 112. The Special Rapporteur encourages States to define the regime to be applied in the case of migrants with premises, to avoid arbitrariness and the application of a penitentiary regime. 113. States should recognize the need to allow independent scrutiny and control mechanisms of the conditions of detention of children (judicial authorities, international