A/HRC/11/7 page 7 report (A/HRC/7/12) has proven to be at the origin of ill-treatment and other human rights abuses. This is of particular concern in the case of children, especially those unaccompanied and undocumented, in countries of transit and destination where irregular migration is sanctioned with imprisonment, particularly when migration management policies are yet to mainstream a child rights approach. 26. The protection of children during migration necessarily implies a gender dimension, since women and girls account for almost 50 per cent of international migrant stock.11 The need to take into consideration the special vulnerability of the girl child to gender-based violence and discrimination12 is illustrated, inter alia, by the impact that additional restrictions on travel owing to male guardianships may have on the number of girls resorting to irregular channels to migrate. The gender dimension of migration also includes issues of trafficking in persons for purposes of sexual exploitation, forced labour and other forms of exploitation,13 as well as other abuses to which the girl child is more vulnerable during migration, such as the request of sexual favours in exchange for protection or for the promise to cross borders.14 27. In the light of the above, the Special Rapporteur deems it important that a discussion on the protection of children in the context of migration be held. In the present report, he refers to the international legal framework applicable to children in the context of transnational human mobility, reminding States of their obligation to ensure the protection of all children at all stages of the migration process. 28. The Special Rapporteur also highlights some of the specific vulnerabilities of children, especially of unaccompanied or separated children, in the migration process, and presents an overview of some of the issues affecting the realization of the human rights of the child in the context of migration. 2. International legal framework and responsibility of the State 29. Existing international human rights instruments are aimed at protecting the rights of all human beings, including children. The rights of the child are also recognized in several 11 International Migration Report 2006: A Global Assessment, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2009. 12 See General Assembly resolution 62/140. 13 See General Assembly resolution 63/156. 14 See “The girl child and armed conflict: recognizing and addressing grave violations of girls’ human rights”, prepared by Dyan Mazurana and Kristopher Carlson, Expert Group Meeting, Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination and Violence against the Girl Child, Florence, Italy, 25-28 September 2006.