These guidelines, published by the Council of Baltic Sea States Secretariat, are derived from the project Child Exploitation: Cross-National Child Protection in Practice - ‘PROTECT Children on the Move’ and the experience and evidence shared by the various professionals and officials who participated in the project.
The guidelines were informed by both European and International actors working with children on the move and are rooted in international standards. They elaborate on the best interests of the child as a human rights concept.
"The Guidelines operate with the concept of ‘safeguarding’ children. An approach that safeguards children, recognises that protection measures need to be integrated into a continuum of services for prevention, protection and empowerment. All measures and actors have to respect and value the human rights, needs and views of the individual girl or boy in the light of her or his specific situation, background and perspectives for the future.
The Guidelines address the situations of children on the move who are at risk of abuse, exploitation and trafficking at any stage in their migration. They are directed at national child protection systems and asylum reception systems as main institutional entry points for promoting the human rights and the best interests of children on the move. Case management and care planning for children on the move are central to the Guidelines. They discuss step-by-step the transnational cooperation from the initial identification of the child and relevant assessments through to the identification and implementation of a durable solution, including the possibility of return."
