New UNHCR guidelines on the best interests of the child |
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The UN High Commission for Refugees has released a set of guidelines aimed at protecting and promoting the rights of children which fall under its mandate.
Based on years of research, the Guidelines for Determining the Best Interests of the Child is intended to clarify the much-debated 'best interest' principle and provide a formal mechanism for determining what is in the best interests of vulnerable children, particularly child refugees.
The report is in three chapters, outlining the legal and social framework of the 'best interest' principle , the UNHCR interpretation of the Best Interest Determination (BID) and guidance on operating the BID procedure.
George Okoth-Obbo, director of the UNHCR International Protection Services division, says that the true value of the guidelines will be tested by the extent to which they come to be relied on in practice.
"I urge all those into whose hands they will be placed to make the greatest use of them and, on the basis of this experience, to encourage feedback to UNHCR," he said.
IFSW is developing guidelines in implementation of the principle.
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page last updated on 18.06.2008
