Child-family separation must be prevented

The next annual full-day meeting of the rights of the child, due to take place at the March 2022 session of the Human Rights Council, will be on “the rights of the child and family reunification”.

As per usual practice, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has been requested to prepare a report on this theme, in close cooperation with all relevant stakeholders, with a view to providing information for the annual meeting and the corresponding resolution.

Child Rights Connect formed a Task Force, composed of member organizations and UNICEF, and led the work to draft a joint position paper with key recommendations to inform the OHCHR report, the annual day on the rights of the child, and the resolution.

As a member of the Taskforce, MMM stressed the importance of preventing family separation: according to a child’s right to family life, which is articulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, governments should take all appropriate measures to prevent any separation of a child from his or her parents. Such measures should address the drivers of separation and include providing services like counseling, parenting education and any other form of support to parents.

In particular, poverty should never be a justification to remove a child from his or her family.

At MMM, we hope that these particular points will form part of the Resolution on “the rights of the child and family reunification”, which should be adopted at the 49th session of the Human Rights Council in March 2022.

Download the joint position paper

Child Rights Connect also calls for other organisations to sign on to the position paper and add their voice to the call for a strong resolution  – the support form is available here.