A/HRC/37/33 harm, neglect, abuse, recruitment into armed forces, child trafficking, forced and child marriage, illegal adoption, and sexual and other forms of exploitation (see also A/72/164, paras. 24-45). 28. Separation may be an unintentional result of a humanitarian situation – for example, where family members become separated while fleeing from danger, while crossing international borders or during evacuation. In situations of armed violence, abduction of children by parties to the conflict is one of the main reasons for separation. Similarly, in the context of migration, unaccompanied or separated children are at a heightened risk of trafficking and exploitation. On the other hand, separation may be a deliberate decision made by parents or caregivers because they lack the means to care for their children, or where residential care facilities are able to provide better care than the family.11 According to the Inter-agency Guiding Principles on Unaccompanied and Separated Children issued by the International Committee of the Red Cross in 2004, the risk of deliberate separation can be mitigated by giving priority to the protection of and assistance for families, to enable them to meet the needs of the children in their care, while ensuring that all households have access to basic supplies and services (see also A/HRC/19/63, paras. 51-61). 29. In times of humanitarian crisis, it is vital that children be provided with interim care, with the ultimate aim of reunification with their families and caregivers as quickly as possible (A/72/164, paras. 54-58). Family tracing should be the immediate priority, and no long-term care arrangements, such as domestic or intercountry adoption, should be made until it is clear that there is no possibility of successful tracing and reunification. 12 30. States should take steps to prevent family separation in humanitarian situations. Families should be informed of measures that they can take in emergencies to minimize the risk of their children becoming separated. In the case of infants and small children, parents and caregivers should teach them their name, address and details of where they come from in order to facilitate tracing should they become separated. Whenever possible, children should be evacuated from their place of residence together with adult family members. Evacuating children without family members should be a measure of last resort, taken only after careful determination that protection and assistance cannot be assured and that evacuation of the entire family is not feasible. B. Violence and exploitation 1. Sexual violence and exploitation 31. Children are exposed to a wide range of risks in humanitarian situations, and child protection, namely the prevention of exploitation, violence and abuse, must be an immediate priority and given equal importance as other areas of humanitarian action, such as the provision of food, emergency shelter and clean water. Although States have the primary responsibility to protect children in humanitarian situations, they often lack the technical and financial resources necessary to fulfil it. An effective response requires a comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach that includes not only the provision of services but also ensures accountability through legal reform, the training of security forces, capacitybuilding of child protection actors, and public awareness-raising. 32. In the aftermath of an emergency situation, the risk of sexual exploitation may increase as a result of reduced protection mechanisms, the collapse of the rule of law, or greater social or economic pressure.13 This may also be compounded by the degree of 11 12 13 Global Protection Cluster, “Strengthening Protection in Natural Disaster Response: Children” (working document). Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Policy on Adoption of Refugee Children, August 1995. Child Protection Working Group, A Matter of Life and Death: Child protection programming’s essential role in ensuring child wellbeing and survival during and after emergencies, Global Protection Cluster, 2015, sect. 3.3. 7