CMW/C/GC/3-CRC/C/GC/22 (f) Conduct a best-interests assessment on a case-by-case basis in order to decide, if needed, and in accordance with the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, 8 the type of accommodation that would be most appropriate for an unaccompanied or separated child, or children with parents. In that process, community-based care solutions should be prioritized. Any measure that constrains children’s liberty in order to protect them, e.g. placement in secure accommodation, should be implemented within the child protection system with the same standards and safeguards; be strictly necessary, legitimate and proportionate to the aim of protecting the individual child from harming him or herself or others; be part of a holistic care plan; and be disconnected from migration-enforcement policies, practices and authorities; (g) Conduct a best-interests determination in cases that could lead to the expulsion of migrant families due to their migration status, in order to evaluate the impact of deportation on children’s rights and development, including their mental health; (h) Ensure that children are identified promptly in border controls and other migration-control procedures within the State’s jurisdiction, and that anyone claiming to be a child is treated as such, promptly referred to child protection authorities and other relevant services, and appointed a guardian, if unaccompanied or separated; (i) Provide guidance to all relevant authorities on the operationalization of the principle of the best interests of the child for migrant children, including children in transit, and develop mechanisms aimed at monitoring its proper implementation in practice; (j) Develop and put into practice, with regard to unaccompanied children and children with families, a best-interests determination procedure aimed at identifying and applying comprehensive, secure and sustainable solutions, 9 including further integration and settlement in the country of current residence, repatriation to the country of origin or resettlement in a third country. Such solutions may include medium-term options and ensuring that there are possibilities for children and families to gain access to secure residence status in the best interests of the child. Best-interest determination procedures should be guided by child protection authorities within child protection systems. Possible solutions and plans should be discussed and developed together with the child, in a childfriendly and sensitive manner, in accordance with Committee on the Rights of the Child general comment No. 12 (2009) on the right of the child to be heard; (k) If determined that it is in the best interests of the child to be returned, an individual plan should be prepared, together with the child where possible, for his or her sustainable reintegration. The Committees stress that countries of origin, transit, destination and return should develop comprehensive frameworks with dedicated resources for the implementation of policies and comprehensive inter-institutional coordination mechanisms. Such frameworks should ensure, in cases of children returning to their countries of origin or third countries, their effective reintegration through a rights-based approach, including immediate protection measures and long-term solutions, in particular effective access to education, health, psychosocial support, family life, social inclusion, access to justice and protection from all forms of violence. In all such situations, a quality rights-based follow-up by all involved authorities, including independent monitoring and evaluation, should be ensured. The Committees highlight that return and reintegration measures should be sustainable from the perspective of the child’s right to life, survival and development. 33. States parties are obliged, in line with article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to ensure that any decision to return a child to his or her country of origin is based on evidentiary considerations on a case-by-case basis and pursuant to a procedure with appropriate due process safeguards, including a robust individual assessment and determination of the best-interests of the child. This procedure should ensure, inter alia, that the child, upon return, will be safe and provided with proper care and enjoyment of rights. 8 9 8 General Assembly resolution 64/142, annex. A comprehensive, secure and sustainable solution is one that, to the greatest extent possible, caters to the long-term best interests and welfare of the child and is sustainable and secure from that perspective. The outcome should aim to ensure that the child is able to develop into adulthood, in an environment that will meet his or her needs and fulfil his or her rights as defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.