CMW/C/GC/4-CRC/C/GC/23 (e) Have effective access to communication with consular officials and consular assistance, and to receive child-sensitive rights-based consular protection; (f) Be assisted by an attorney trained and/or experienced in representing children at all stages of the proceedings and communicate freely with the representative, and have access to free legal aid; (g) Have the application and procedures involving children be treated as a priority, while ensuring ample time to prepare for proceedings and that all due process guarantees are preserved; (h) Appeal the decision to a higher court or independent authority, with suspensive effect; (i) For unaccompanied and separated children, have appointed a competent guardian, as expeditiously as possible, who serves as a key procedural safeguard to ensure respect for their best interests;19 (j) Be fully informed throughout the entire procedure, together with their guardian and legal adviser, including information on their rights and all relevant information that could affect them. 18. The Committees recognize the negative impacts on children’s well-being of having an insecure and precarious migration status. The Committees therefore recommend that States ensure that there are clear and accessible status determination procedures for children to regularize their status on various grounds (such as length of residence). 19. The Committees are of the opinion that a comprehensive interpretation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child with articles 7 (a), 23 and 65 (2) of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families should imply the development and implementation of effective consular protection policies which include specific measures directed to protecting children’s rights, such as providing ongoing training to consular staff on the two Conventions, as well as on other human rights instruments, and promoting protocols on consular protection services. D. Right to a name, identity, and a nationality (article 29 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; articles 7 and 8 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1. Birth registration 20. The lack of birth registration may have many negative impacts on the enjoyment of children’s rights, such as child marriage, trafficking, forced recruitment and child labour. Birth registrations may also help to achieve convictions against those who have abused a child. Unregistered children are at particular risk of becoming stateless when born to parents who are in an irregular migration situation, due to barriers to acquiring nationality in the country of origin of the parents as well as to accessing birth registration and nationality at the place of their birth.20 21. The Committees urge States parties to take all necessary measures to ensure that all children are immediately registered at birth and issued birth certificates, irrespective of their migration status or that of their parents. Legal and practical obstacles to birth registration should be removed, including by prohibiting data sharing between health providers or civil servants responsible for registration with immigration enforcement authorities; and not requiring parents to produce documentation regarding their migration status. Measures should also be taken to facilitate late registration of birth and to avoid financial penalties for 19 20 6 See Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 6, paras. 20-21 and 33-38. According to article 1 of the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, a stateless person is “a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law”.