CMW/C/GC/4-CRC/C/GC/23
violence against a family member. Among other measures, effective firewalls between
child protection services and immigration enforcement should be ensured.
43.
For migrant children for whom there are indications of trafficking, sale or other
forms of sexual exploitation or who may be at risk of such acts or of child marriage, States
should adopt the following measures:
• Establish early identification measures to detect victims of sale, trafficking and
abuse, as well as referral mechanisms, and in this regard carry out mandatory
training for social workers, border police, lawyers, medical professionals and all
other staff who come into contact with children
• Where different migration statuses are available, the most protective status (i.e.,
asylum or residence on humanitarian grounds) should be applied and granting such
status should be determined on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the best
interests of the child
• Ensure that the granting of residence status or assistance to migrant child victims of
sale, trafficking or other forms of sexual exploitation is not made conditional on the
initiation of criminal proceedings or their cooperation with law enforcement
authorities.
44.
Furthermore, States should take the following actions to ensure the full and effective
protection of migrant children from all forms of violence and abuse:
• Take effective measures to ensure that they are protected from any form of slavery
and commercial sexual exploitation and from being used for illicit activities or from
any work that would jeopardize their health, safety or morals, including by
becoming party to relevant conventions of the International Labour Organization
• Take effective measures to protect them from all forms of violence and abuse,
regardless of their migration status
• Recognize and address the gender-specific vulnerable situations of girls and boys
and children with disabilities as potential victims of trafficking for sexual, labour
and all other forms of exploitation
• Ensure comprehensive protection, support services and access to effective redress
mechanisms, including psychosocial assistance and information about those
remedies, for migrant children and their families reporting cases of violence, abuse
or exploitation to police or other relevant authorities, regardless of their migration
status; children and parents must be able to safely report to police or other
authorities as victims or witnesses without any risk of immigration enforcement as a
result
• Recognize the important role that can be played by community services and civil
society organizations in regard to the protection of migrant children
• Develop comprehensive policies aimed at addressing the root causes of all forms of
violence, exploitation and abuse against migrant children, including adequate
resources for their proper implementation
G.
Right to protection from economic exploitation, including underage and
hazardous work, employment conditions and social security (articles 25,
27, 52, 53, 54 and 55 of the International Convention on the Protection
of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families;
articles 26 and 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child)
45.
With due respect to international labour standards related to the minimum age for
admission to employment and the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child
labour, not all work carried out by migrant children who are above legal working age is
exploitative or undertaken in hazardous conditions. The Committees remind States that
migrant children above working age, irrespective of their status, should enjoy equal
treatment to that of national children in respect of remuneration, other conditions of work
and terms of employment.
11