A/74/136 120. Preparation for eventual separation should begin at the outset of the sentence. Children and their caregivers should be provided with psychological, emotional and practical support before, during and after separation. 3. Migration-related detention 121. The Independent Expert urges States to prohibit and end all forms of migration-related detention of children and their families. 122. States should: prohibit child and family immigration detention in law; decriminalize irregular entry, stay and exit; adopt child-sensitive identification and referral procedures in the context of migration; and dedicate sufficient resources to appropriate non-custodial solutions for children and their families. 123. Unaccompanied children should be provided with alternative care and accommodation, in line with the United Nations Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children. States should provide refugee children with access to asylum procedures and other appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance, including family reunification, education and health care. 124. Children with family members should be allowed to remain with their families in non-custodial, community-based contexts while their immigration status is resolved and the children’s best interests are assessed. Children should not be separated from their families. The need to keep the family together is not a valid basis for deprivation of liberty of the child; instead, the State sh ould provide non-custodial solutions for the entire family. 4. Institutions 125. The Independent Expert recommends that a universal vision, based on the principle in the preamble to the Convention on the Rights of the Child that every child “should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding”, be developed and pursued globally. 126. States should target the causes of the separation of children from their families and provide the necessary preventive measures through support for families and strengthened child protection and social support systems. States should invest in a well-planned, trained and supported social service workforce, as well as integrated case management systems. 127. States should develop and implement a strategy for progressive deinstitutionalization which includes significant investments in family and community-based support and services. States should prioritize the closure of large-scale institutions and avoid the creation of new institutions. 128. States should undertake a process to assess children presently in institutions and make all efforts to return them safely to their immediate family, extended family, or, failing that, in a family-type setting integrated into the community, on the basis of the best interests of the child, and taking into account the child’s will and preferences. 129. While prevention and deinstitutionalization are being carried out, States should ensure that all alternative care options respect the rights of all children and implement measures that guarantee the full participation of all children. States should provide effective support for safe and well-prepared transitioning out of care into independent living, after-care services and the reintegration of children back into their families and communities. 130. States are also urged to map all institutions within the country, whether private or public, whether presently registered or not, and regardless of how 19-11838 21/23