CMW/C/GC/4-CRC/C/GC/23 enforcement authorities. Similarly, States should ensure that irregular migrant children are not criminalized for exercising their right to housing and that private actors, such as landlords and civil society organizations, who facilitate their exercise of this right are also not criminalized. 53. The Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulates that States parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the Convention to each child within its jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind; this includes discrimination against children on the basis of their or their parents’ migration status. The Committees therefore urge States parties to provide equitable access to economic, social and cultural rights. States are encouraged to expeditiously reform legislation, policies and practices that discriminate against migrant children and their families, including those in an irregular situation, or prevent them from effectively accessing services and benefits, for example social assistance. 28 I. Right to health (articles 28 and 45 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; articles 23, 24 and 39 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child) 54. The Committees acknowledge that a child’s physical and mental health can be affected by a variety of factors, including structural determinants such as poverty, unemployment, migration and population displacements, violence, discrimination and marginalization. The Committees are aware that migrant and refugee children may experience severe emotional distress and may have particular and often urgent mental health needs. Children should therefore have access to specific care and psychological support, recognizing that children experience stress differently from adults. 55. Every migrant child should have access to health care equal to that of nationals, regardless of their migration status. This includes all health services, whether preventive or curative, and mental, physical or psychosocial care, provided in the community or in health-care institutions. States have an obligation to ensure that children’s health is not undermined as a result of discrimination, which is a significant factor contributing to vulnerability; the implications of multiple forms of discrimination should also be addressed.29 Attention should be paid to addressing the gender-specific impacts of reduced access to services.30 In addition, migrant children should be provided full access to ageappropriate sexual and reproductive health information and services. 56. States are encouraged to emphasize a holistic approach to the right to health. Their national plans, policies, and strategies should address the health needs of migrant children and the vulnerable situations in which they may find themselves. Migrant children should have access to health services without being required to present a residence permit or asylum registration. Administrative and financial barriers to accessing services should be removed, including through the acceptance of alternative means of proving identity and residence, such as testimonial evidence. 31 In addition, the Committees urge States to prohibit the sharing of patients’ data between health institutions and immigration authorities as well as immigration enforcement operations on or near public health premises, as these effectively limit or deprive migrant children or children born to migrant parents in an irregular situation of their right to health. 32 Effective firewalls should be put in place in order to ensure their right to health. 57. Discrimination can often exacerbate insufficient financial and legal protection, and may force migrant children to postpone treatment until they are seriously ill. Attention 28 29 30 31 32 See Committee on the Rights of the Child, report of the 2012 day of general discussion, para. 86. See general comment No. 15 (2013) on the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, paras. 5 and 8. See Committee on the Rights of the Child, report of the 2012 day of general discussion, para. 86. See Committee on the Rights of the Child, report of the 2012 day of general discussion, para. 86. See Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, general comment No. 2, para. 74. 13