Enforcing the Rights of Children in Migration

The Committee will continue the work commenced by the Study Group on Cross-Border Violations of Children’s Rights. The Children’s Rights Study Group completed and submitted its report, Enforcing the Rights of Children in Migration in May 2021. 

The work of the Study Group is now ready to be expanded and to invite contributions from the wider membership of the ILA. All the proposed officers for the ILA Committee on Enforcing the Rights of Children in Migration actively participated in the child rights Study Group and are committed to expanding the body of international law experts engaged in this work and to take the work to the next level by publishing a book focused specifically on the enforcement of the rights of children in migration and developing a set of recommendations (“best practices”) for countries interacting with children in migration. These recommendations would be included in a resolution finalizing the mandate of the Committee at the conclusion of its work. The Committee is hopeful that the ILA Executive Committee will consider adoption of the recommendations in 2026.

• The work program of the Committee will focus on the following areas: 
• Analyzing and summarizing the projections for child migration in the mid-21st century
• Documenting the experiences of children in migration (past, present, and future) and summarizing the research on the impact of those experiences on child health and well-being
• Defining who is and who is not a child in migration with critical analyses of legal definitions and age assessment methodologies
• Identifying existing and, if appropriate, proposing new special protections for children in migration
• Identifying existing and, if appropriate, proposing new international and comparative legal distinctions between unaccompanied and separated children versus children in families in migration and other migration grouping patterns
• Identifying existing, potential and, if appropriate, new international forums for the enforcement of the rights of children in migration
• Preparing analytical summaries of the growing body of jurisprudence regarding children in migration from international and regional legal authorities (for example, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child)
• Addressing whether or not a treaty and/or international body focused specifically on children in migration should be considered and why or why not, and if not, what measures could be taken to optimize the existing mechanisms
• Summarizing recommendations/best practices to advance the enforcement of the rights of children in migration