A/64/213 55. The first includes “grey areas” relating to the general protection of the child affected by transnational organized crime. For example, the classification of a child as a trafficking victim implies in some instances additional migration obstacles for the child at the border or forced return to his or her place of origin, without taking into consideration the child’s view on such return to the country of origin, in proportion to age and maturity, as established by article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Furthermore, the criminalization of traffickers is sometimes construed in a way that undermines or diminishes the child’s rights, for example, when affording protection to a child victim is conditional on the child’s agreement to testify against the traffickers in court. 56. The Special Rapporteur is also concerned about the situation of children born and living in countries to which their mothers have been trafficked, particularly when there is a well-founded fear of reprisals against them by traffickers and when such children are left behind because their mothers are in police custody or detention centres as a result of police or immigration raids. 57. The second area with regard to which host countries should enhance protection relates to children from a migrant background. Children in this category do not necessarily fall under the definition of migrant children, but they are affected by the immigration background of their parents or family members. 58. The Special Rapporteur has identified irregular migration and its criminalization as causes for deep concern in relation to the effective protection of migrant children. When criminalized, irregular migration has proved to be a deterrent to, for example, childbirth registration, because irregular or undocumented migrants usually fear imprisonment and/or deportation and therefore try to avoid all contact with local authorities. Barriers to birth registration and/or its denial have serious consequences for the enjoyment of human rights, including the right to be recognized as a person before the law. Furthermore, States should prevent situations of statelessness, in accordance with article 1 of the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. 59. The Special Rapporteur wishes to draw the attention of States to the need to adopt a comprehensive rights-based approach to the management of migration, since migration policies may have a direct impact on the enjoyment of human rights by children. Policies that exclude legal avenues for the regularization of irregular migrants and prohibit the access of irregular (adult) migrants to employment may also have an impact on the standard of living of children. Migration policies should therefore take into consideration the impact that they may have on the enjoyment by migrants of their human rights. In this connection, the Special Rapporteur wishes to highlight the fact that regularization policies constitute a good example of practices aimed at strengthening social integration and cohesion, ensuring the human rights of migrants and attaining State goals such as social security, public health-care coverage and social inclusion. Regularization measures should benefit unaccompanied children and children with their families; they should have the necessary flexibility to improve the social integration of migrants, as well as provide access to fundamental rights, including the right to seek and obtain employment. 14 09-43777