A/75/183 78. Children have the right to be heard and consulted on and informed of all decisions that have a fundamental impact on their future. Whenever they are referred to asylum, administrative or judicial procedures, they must be provided with child sensitive information, legal advice and representation. Several countries provide for the appointment of a lawyer to represent migrant children in the various proceedings they may face. In the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom, for example, State-funded legal assistance is available to unaccompanied children and to families for asylum cases, including appeals. Free legal advice is offered both by the Danish Immigration Service and by the Danish Refugee Council. 123 In other countries, such as Kenya, civil society organizations play a fundamen tal role in providing legal representation. 124 Moreover, many countries have adopted specific policies to provide interpretation services in their mother tongue or a language the migrant child understands, 125 as well as child-friendly information regarding migration procedures. All these initiatives show that many actors across the world are searching for ways to enhance the reception and care of migrant children and their families. G. Main challenges among key actors 79. Detention is expensive, administratively burdensome and an ineffective migration management tool which does not deter irregular migration. Despite international standards and an emerging consensus on the complete prohibition of immigration detention of children, some countries continue this appalling practice. Many countries continue to detain children because of their or their parents’ migration status or before deportation. 80. Immigration detention constitutes a key pillar of a State’s approach to criminalizing migration, and reflects a criminal justice-oriented approach towards migration. This approach contributes to discrimination against migrants and breeds xenophobia in the society. This explains why in some countries, immigration detention is implemented in a way that interferes with children’s right to family unity and limits their access to rights and essential services such as health, education and legal representation. Some States only prohibit immigration detention of children who belong to certain vulnerable categories, while allowing it for the rest, leading to severe protection gaps and fragmented approaches. 81. Discrimination against non-national children seems to be another key challenge to overcome. Even in countries that do not detain migrant children, the standard of what constitutes adequate care for migrant children tends to be lower than for national children. Lack of capacity of national child protection and welfare systems and underdeveloped or ill-performing alternative care systems are other major obstacles. In many countries, the underresourced national child protection system fails to provide adequate care for migrant children. IV. Conclusions and recommendations 82. Detention of any child for reasons related to their, their parents’ or their legal guardians’ migration status is always a child rights violation and may constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of migrant children. Immigration detention of children and their families has a pervasive impact on __________________ 123 124 125 20/23 Submission by the Danish Institute for Human Rights. Submission by the Refugee Consortium of Kenya. European Asylum Support Office, Annual Report on the Situation of Asylum in the European Union 2018, sect. 4.3. 20-09734