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The transnational child protection portal
Introduction
The Transnational Child Protection Portal offers a platform for sharing information, knowledge, and expertise among all those involved in safeguarding children in cross-border situations. It offers an overview about tools, internationally recognised and endorsed approaches and methods, as well as institutions and contacts in different countries. The platform will evolve when more and more institutions, services and professionals take part in sharing their expertise.
Whether at home or on the move, children have the right to grow up free from violence and to be protected from exploitation, abuse, neglect and maltreatment (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 19). Under international, regional and national law, states are obliged to ensure children’s safety and well-being and to promote their development. These rights apply to all children, regardless of their national origin or immigration status (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 2). States also have a duty to support parents and legal guardians in their child rearing roles and responsibilities (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 18).
International migration is increasingly challenging immigration procedures and causes strain on states, service providers, communities and societies in countries of origin and destination. Migration authorities, law enforcement, child protection services, outreach or emergency services, care staff, guardians and legal representatives and the judiciary as well as volunteers are usually involved.
In order to safeguard children on the move, state authorities and service providers often need to work across borders. This requires a good network of contacts, effective transnational communication and procedures for case assessments, referral and service provision. When a child migrates across borders, or has ties to more than one country, it can be difficult for service providers and authorities to ensure the child’s safety and development. There are many challenges involved, such as communicating effectively with the child, including through interpretation and cultural mediation, gathering information from the child’s home community, understanding the situation, aspirations and needs of the child and the quality of the child’s relation to family members. When children are separated from their parents, have been exposed to violence or neglect, or when they are at risk, the objective of all assessments is to identify a durable solution that is in the best interests of the girl or boy concerned.
This portal is a work in progress. Constructive contributions are welcome and encouraged.
Topics
| Children’s mobility, human rights and development | International standards and safeguards concerning children on the move |
Child rights principles relating to children on the move |
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| Children and justice in transnational cases | Transnational cooperation for the implementation of durable solutions |
International and European standards |
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| International actors | EU actors | National actors |
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The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is at the core of the transnational protection of children.
The Convention is part of a larger body of international human rights law. It affords a broad set of rights for all persons under 18 years of age and is comprehensive as it combines social, economic and cultural rights with civil and political rights in a single treaty. The Convention promotes an empowering understanding of children as rights holders. It stipulates their human rights and the correlated legal obligations of states as well as obligations of parents and caregivers, public authorities, private service providers and the private sector. In addition to its legal relevance, the Convention has a programmatic character in that it guides policy makers and practitioners on how to safeguard children and promote their well-being, safety and development in a holistic way.
The Convention applies to all children within the jurisdiction of a state (Article 2). This includes children who are within the borders of a state, and those who come under the state’s jurisdiction while attempting to enter the country’s territory, for instance at borders or airports. In consequence, the rights under the Convention apply to all children on the move, regardless of the purpose or conditions of their movement for family reunification, travel, economic migration, asylum or trafficking.
The Convention provides standards for care and protection, identification, case management, reporting and referral. It affords children a right to education and training, access to social services, health care and treatment and provides for the right of girls and boys to develop their evolving capacities. Children who have been exposed to acts of violence, exploitation or abuse have a right to be recognised as victims of crime, to access assistance for recovery, rehabilitation and justice. This applies to child victims of trafficking and all other children who have been exposed to violence, abuse or exploitation in any form.
See also:
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography
- Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict
- Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure
- Committee on the Rights of the Child is the international Treaty Body mandated to monitor the implementation of the Convention by States Parties.
Selected article
Unaccompanied minor
An unaccompanied minor (sometimes "unaccompanied child" or "separated child" or more generally "unaccompanied children") is a child without the presence of a legal guardian.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child defines unaccompanied minors and unaccompanied children as those "who have been separated from both parents and other relatives and are not being cared for by an adult who, by law or custom, is responsible for doing so." The Committee defines separated children as those "who have been separated from both parents, or from their previous legal or customary primary care-giver, but not necessarily from other relatives. These may, therefore, include children accompanied by other adult family members.”
This term is used in immigration law and in airline policies. The specific definition varies from country to country and from airline to airline.
WikiProjects
Related projects
Related portals
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See also the Index of children's rights articles.
Things to do
- Suggest a new topic.
- Create or expand articles listed on the Transnational child protection portal to-do list.
Key terms, definitions, and concepts
In the news
The European migrant crisis or European refugee crisis began in 2015, when a rising number of refugees and migrants made the journey to the European Union (EU) to seek asylum, traveling across the Mediterranean Sea or through Southeast Europe. They came from areas such as Western and South Asia, Africa, and the Western Balkans. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the top three nationalities of the over one million Mediterranean Sea arrivals in 2015 were Syrian (49%), Afghan (21%) and Iraqi (8%). Of the refugees and migrants arriving in Europe by sea in 2015, 58% were men, 17% women and 25% children.
Sources for further reading and research
Databases
- UN Treaty Body Database provides access to State Party reports on the implementation of the Convention and the concluding observations from the Committee
- Save the Children Resource Centre
- Better Care Network Toolkit
- Better Care Network Library
- UNICEF Publications
- Hague Conference Publications
- CRIN Child Rights Wiki
International publications
- Separated Children Handbook, From identification to the search for a durable solution by Swiss Foundation of the International Social Service 2015
- Implementation Handbook for the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
- UNICEF Guidelines on the Protection of Child Victims of Trafficking 2006
- Statement of Good Practice by Save the Children, UNHCR, and UNICEF, 2009
- UNHCR Guidelines on Formal Determination of the Best Interests of the Child 2006.
European publications
- European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Handbook on European Law Relating to the Rights of the Child, 2015
- European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Handbook on European Law Relating to Asylum, Borders and Immigration, 2014.
- CONNECT Reference Document on EU Law and Policy 2014
- CBSS Guidelines Promoting the Human Rights and the Best Interests of the Child in Transnational Child Protection Cases 2015
Related Categories
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About this portal's team
Any bias towards the European situation is unintentional. All efforts to ensure the global situation is represented are warmly encouraged.
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