A/HRC/17/33 30. The protection of children in host countries was in most circumstances contextspecific, and therefore depended on the particular situation of the child: whether the child’s situation amounted to the protection afforded under refugee law; whether the child was a victim of transnational organized crime; whether the child migrated with his family and one or both parents were migrant workers; or whether the child migrated irregularly, unaccompanied or undocumented. The Special Rapporteur had identified two areas where States generally should enhance efforts to provide rights-based responses to protect children in host countries. The first area related to the general protection of children affected by transnational organized crime. The second area related to the full enjoyment of human rights by children from a migrant background. 31. The Special Rapporteur highlighted that there is no accurate statistical information on the number of children involved in the international migration process. Like adult migration, child migration is influenced by the political, social, economic and environmental situation. This included new global phenomena such as climate change, the food crisis and the financial and economic crisis. Children who are unaccompanied or separated from their parents were particularly vulnerable to human rights violations and abuses at all stages of the migration process. The lack of distinction between adult and child migrants was therefore a major challenge that a number of States still had to overcome. National migration laws did not always include a child rights perspective and usually lack specific provisions on children. 32. The protection of the child during migration demanded the consideration of issues related to irregular migration, since they affected the child’s enjoyment of human rights. The protection of children during migration necessarily implied a gender dimension, since women and girls accounted for almost half of international migrants, and girls migrating either on their own or accompanied are vulnerable to sexual violence and gender-based human rights violations. 33. Finally, the Special Rapporteur highlighted the importance of an adequate legal framework for the protection of the rights of all children in the context of migration, including through ratification of relevant international human rights and other instruments and their translation into national laws and policies. He made a number of recommendations for further consideration and action. C. The rights to health and to adequate housing for migrants 34. The Special Rapporteur focused on the enjoyment of rights to health and to adequate housing for migrants.4 He recalled the applicable international legal framework and discussed the main challenges encountered by migrants in the enjoyment of these rights, with particular attention to the situations of migrant women and girls and children. 35. The Special Rapporteur recalled that the enjoyment of these rights by all individuals in society regardless of their citizenship, nationality and immigration status is not only an end in itself as a matter of entitlement, but also a crucial means to ensure equitable human development and social integration of migrants in host societies. 36. The Special Rapporteur was also concerned about a general lack of comprehensive policies and measures aimed at protecting and promoting the rights to health and adequate housing for migrants. The absence of such policies and measures gave rise to violations of States’ obligations to take steps towards the full realization of these rights. For example, newly arrived migrants could face a variety of challenges in accessing health care or 4 8 See A/HRC/14/30.