A recent study indicates that countries often struggle with gathering information on the situation of a child, tracing family, restoring family links and assessing the family situation for the purposes of reunification.204 Best interests of the child205 The best interests of the child must be the primary consideration in all decisions and measures that concern child victims. This principle that applies to all branches of government, including those structures engaged in implementing returns and return-related processes.206 The CRC has underlined how the concept of a child’s best interest is three-fold.207 First, it is a substantive right, meaning that the right of the child to have her or his best interests assessed and treated as the primary consideration when considering different interests to reach a decision on the issue at stake. According to the CRC, the relevant provision (Art. 3(1)) of the convention is directly applicable (self-executing) and can, therefore, be invoked before a court.208 Second, it is a legal principle and, as such, if it is open to more than one interpretation, then the one that most effectively serves the child’s best interests should be chosen.209 Third, it is a rule of procedure and requires that the decision-making process include an evaluation of the possible impact of the decision on the child or children concerned.210 An assessment of the child’s best interests should be conducted for each individual case, and should consider the specific circumstances of each child. This includes circumstances relating to the individual characteristics of the child, such as age, sex, level of maturity, experience, belonging to a minority group and having a physical, sensory or intellectual disability, as well as the child’s social and cultural context, such as the presence or absence of parents and the existence of quality alternative means available to the family, extended family or caregivers, among other factors.211 An assessment of the best interests of the child should begin as soon as child victims are identified as such, and should continue throughout the child’s displacement until a durable solution is identified and implemented.212 Other elements that must be considered when assessing the child’s best interests include the child’s views, identity, 204  European Council on Refugees and Exiles, Comparative Study on Practices in the Field of Return of Minors, op. cit., note 203, p. 13. 205  This section is drawn from the following: CRC General Comment No. 6; CRC General Comment No. 14; UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNHCR Guidelines on Determining the Best Interests of the Child, May 2008; UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Field Handbook for the Implementation of UNHCR BID Guidelines, November 2011; UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Reference Guide on Protecting the Rights of Child Victims of Trafficking in Europe, 2006, Section 9.2. For a more detailed examination, see Gallagher, The International Law of Human Trafficking, pp. 323-336; and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Commentary to the OHCHR Trafficking Principles and Guidelines, pp. 161-174. 206  UN General Assembly, Convention on the Rights of the Child, 20 November 1989,  United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577 (hereafter: UNCRC), art. 3(1). 207  CRC General Comment No. 14, para. 6. 208  Ibid. 209  Ibid. 210  Ibid. 211  CRC General Comment No. 14, para. 48. 212  UNICEF Trafficking Guidelines, p. 25. 68 Part 2: Explanatory Report to the Principles