The following is a list of international standards that are relevant to the protection of children in migration and mobility. These standards are legally binding conventions, treaties and directives. The international legal framework concerning children in migration and mobility provides safeguards in relation to asylum and international protection, labour regulations, the prevention of sexual exploitation and trafficking in human beings, international standards for migrant workers, child victims of crime and the judiciary, as well as international private law for child protection and family matters.
International International standards of the United Nations, once adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, are open to signature and ratification by UN Member States worldwide. When a national government ratifies a Convention, the standards afforded under the Convention have to be reflected in national law and policy and become thereby applicable law in the country. The same procedure of ratification applies to the Conventions of the Council of Europe and the Hague Conference of Private International Law. In addition to the Member States of these inter-governmental organisations, non-Member States can also accede to the Conventions.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child defines the human rights of children and the correlated obligations of states. It provides also for obligations of parents and caregivers, public authorities, private service providers and the private sector. These rights and obligations can guide caseworkers and case officers in all measures, decisions and considerations for children on the move. The convention supports caseworkers and officers in navigating the complex body of international, European and national laws. It provides the overarching framework and the strongest point of reference for safeguarding children. The convention is complemented by three Optional Protocols, one on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, another one on the involvement of children in armed conflict, and a third and more recent Protocol on a communications procedure for children. States that have ratified the Convention report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the international Treaty Body mandated to monitor the implementation of the convention by States Parties. The Committee reviews and comments on State Party reports on the implementation of the Convention and develops General Comments, in which it elaborates on specific articles of the convention.
The Hague Conference on Private International Law The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) is a global inter-governmental organisation that has developed standards for the transnational cooperation on child protection and family matters. The key themes addressed by the Conventions of the Hague Conference include transnational child protection, inter-country adoption, cross-border parental child abduction as well as matters of parental responsibility and contact involving different countries. The Hague Conventions in the area of transnational child protection and family law have several common characteristics. They ensure the automatic mutual recognition of official decisions taken by one Contracting State in other Contracting States. They enable and facilitate the cooperation between the Contracting States, including through the establishment of central authorities and the development of unified procedures. By facilitating practical matters, such as the translation of documents, information exchange and the use of standardised model forms, the Conventions aim to simplify and expedite cross-border procedures and the enforcement of official decisions. The Hague Conventions are innovative as they work primarily with the concept of habitual residence of the child, rather than nationality, in order to determine which state has the jurisdiction over a case.
The UN Refugee Convention and its Protocol The UN Refugee Convention and its Protocol regulate the right of persons to seek international protection. Children enjoy special safeguards and have a right to have their asylum application examined individually. Child-specific grounds of persecution need to be considered irrespective of whether the child applies alone or together with a parent or caregiver. The European Union Member States have re-elaborated these standards for the EU context and have adopted a series of Directives regulating the qualification and reception conditions of asylum seekers in the EU as well as asylum procedures and matters of return.
Council of Europe
The European Social Charter The European Social Charter sets out rights and freedoms and establishes a supervisory mechanism mandated to monitor how States Parties implement the Charter in practice. The rights afforded under the Charter concern all individuals in their daily lives as they relate, for instance, to housing, health, education, employment, legal and social protection, free movement of persons and non-discrimination. The Charter was first adopted in 1961 and was subsequently revised. The 1996 revised European Social Charter entered into force in 1999. The European Committee of Social Rights issued in October 2015 a Statement of interpretation on the rights of refugees under the European Social Charter, which provides guidance on the application of the European Social Charter to refugees and asylum seekers.
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