The Joint General Comment of the CMW and CRC addresses the human rights of all children, independently of their or their parents’ status, in the context of international migration. Fundamental principles like non-discrimination, the best interests of the child and the right to be heard need to be integrated by States Parties into migration-related frameworks, policies and practices.
Key Words Archives: Right to be heard
UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), General comment No. 14 (2013) on the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration (art. 3, para. 1)
The Committee considers that the elements to be taken into account when assessing and determining the child’s best interests, as relevant to the situation in question, are: the child’s views; the child’s identity; the preservation of the family environment and maintaining relations; care, protection and safety of the child; situation of vulnerability; the child’s rights to health and to education.
Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Council of Europe Treaty Series – No. 201) was adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 25 October 2007 and entered into force on 1 July 2010. It has been ratified by all the member States of the Council of Europe.
https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list?module=treaty-detail&treatynum=201
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
The Charter entered into force on 01/12/2009. According to art. 6 of the Treaty on European Union the rights, freedoms and principles set out in the Charter shall have the same legal value as the Treaties.
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:12012P/TXT
Convention on the Rights of the Child
The Convention was adopted by resolution 44/252 of 20 November 1989 at the Forty-fourth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. It entered into force on 2 September 1990. The States Parties amount to 196 (in October 2021) and is the most widely ratified international instrument world-wide. The Convention provides for a set of rights to which all children are entitled.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx