A/79/213 arbitrary or unlawful interference with family life, and a best -interests procedure must always be carried out in the context of a potential separation of a child from the parent. 63 Therefore, to protect children’s survival and development rights and right to family unity, the focus must be on preventing family separation by permitting families to move together, and ensuring fast reunification if families are separated. 26. As previously recommended by my predecessor in relation to temporary labour migration, States should ensure family reunion policies, multiple re-entry permits and access to permanent pathways for migrant workers to enable spouses and children to join them in destination countries. 64 Recent guidance also states that bilateral labour migration agreements should facilitate the admission of a migrant worker’s family members and family reunification, and that such agreements should consider the best interests of the dependent children of migrant workers and the preservation of the family unit in their family reunification policies. 65 Recognizing the heightened vulnerability of children affected by migration processes, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on Migrant Workers have also urged that child welfare agencies be properly included in the development of bila teral, regional and international agreements that affect children’s rights. 66 As the temporary labour migration of parents directly affects their children, it is essential that labour migration policies and agreements include a proper assessment of children’s best interests in their design and evaluation. 27. When family unity is constrained by temporary labour migration policies that do not permit family accompaniment for migrant workers, it is critical that States make efforts to preserve transnational family relationships, including by supporting parents to remain active and present in their children’s lives. This includes having specific provisions in bilateral labour migration agreements that create opportunities for regular reunification between dependent children and their parents. 67 The impacts of separation from parents for children remaining in countries of origin will vary based on the individual circumstances of children and their parents, families and communities, as well as the policies and practices of the receiving State and individual employers. However, factors that can assist in preserving family life and family relations for the children of migrant workers include a family’s pre -migration situation, family preparedness for periods of separation, the quality and suitability of alternate caregivers, a parent’s capacity to make return visits and the availability of the means and support to maintain transnational family relationships. 68 D. Children’s rights at borders and initial reception 28. In the absence of safe and regular pathways, children face significant dangers in transit and at borders. Pushbacks of children by States at some borders represent a failure to protect children’s rights. The Convention on the Rights of the Child requires States to take appropriate measures to ensure that children in migration contexts, whether unaccompanied or accompanied by their parents or any other person, receive __________________ 63 64 65 66 67 68 24-13410 Joint general comment No. 4/No. 23 (2017), para. 28, and Committee on the Rights of the Child, O.M. v. Denmark (CRC/C/94/D/145/2021), para. 8.5. A/78/180, para. 68 (j). United Nations Network on Migration, Global Guidance on Bilateral Labour Migration Agreements (2022), chap. III, para. A.6; see also OHCHR, “Human rights and temporary labour migration programmes in and from Asia and the Pacific”, 2022. Joint general comment No. 4/No. 23 (2017), para. 65. Network on Migration, Global Guidance on Bilateral Labour Migration Agreements, chap. III, para. A.6. UNICEF, “Children ‘Left Behind’”, working paper, and Network on Migration, Global Guidance on Bilateral Labour Migration Agreements, p. 75. 11/24