The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has come into effect in the HKSAR since 7 September 1994. 30 years have passed – how much have we moved forward for the best interests of our children?
The Hong Kong Committee on Children’s Rights (HKCCR) has published the report “Comprehensive Review on Hong Kong’s Progress in the Protection of Children and Advancement of Child Rights” following a series of conferences last year aiming to highlight the challenges that children are facing, while making recommendations to improve the lives of children in our city.
Each conference was focused on a particular theme related to the theme. Our CEO Catherine Gurtin was invited to speak at the conference: “Are we adequately preparing our children for an independent life in society? Conference on Civil Rights and Freedoms of Children” that took place on 12th September 2024.
During the panel, Catherine specifically spoke about the importance of migrant children’s access to identity, including birth registration, name and nationality, and shared about how we at PathFinders do our utmost to support and empower Migrant Domestic Worker (MDW) mothers and their vulnerable children.
In HKCCR’s report, our paper “An Unfair Start: Why Migrant Children in Hong Kong Need Protection” discusses the extent to which MDW mothers can provide protections available to their children under Article 7 of the UNCRC which states a “child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have … the right to acquire a nationality.” It also requires that “States Parties shall ensure the implementation of these rights in accordance with their national law … in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless.”
Our paper further examines the complex challenges encountered by MDW mothers upon discovering their pregnancy, as well as the efforts of our caseworkers and Access to Health Team to assist these vulnerable mothers in managing prenatal healthcare in accordance with procedural timelines and regulations. A big shout-out to our caseworkers and Access to Health team for illuminating the challenges of frontline work in contexts where equal inclusion and access to health and public services for our client base is limited.
Read PathFinders’ submission: