A/HRC/19/63 reunification, interim care and long-term solutions. The document also outlines three complementary types of action that are needed to help unaccompanied and separated children, namely, responsive action to prevent, stop and/or alleviate the immediate effects of a specific pattern of abuse; remedial action to restore dignified living conditions through rehabilitation, restitution and reparation; and environment building to create and/or consolidate an environment (political, institutional, legal, social, cultural and economic) that enables full respect for the rights of the child. 41. The Guidelines for the alternative care of children27 assert that in emergency situations, such as natural disasters, governments and aid providers should ensure that staff dealing with unaccompanied or separated children are sufficiently experienced to deal with children appropriately. They recommend that temporary and long-term family-based care be developed. An inter-agency toolkit on alternative care in emergencies has been developed to complement the Guidelines; it comprises guidelines and tools relating to interim care for children in emergencies, based on best practice.28 (c) Remaining challenges 42. Despite the participation of multiple organizations, aid agencies, private actors and States, children continue to face heightened risks to sale and exploitation in situations of natural disaster. While the international community has taken many important steps to provide comprehensive protection to children, protection gaps persist. In fact, there are exploitation risks within the protection perimeter, as is evident below. 43. Implementing a framework to coordinate and allocate the roles, responsibilities and resources of all actors on the ground is difficult in a natural disaster situation. Vast differences in organization mandates, resources and capacities tend to complicate a chaotic situation, which is further exacerbated by the absence of an effectively functioning legal and institutional framework of the State. An absence of information on the existence and location of children further compounds this problem, while gathered information is often incomplete. 44. The focus must be shifted from crisis response to preparation and planning, coupled with mandated accountability, monitoring and follow-up. 2. Acute stage (first 48 hours after a disaster) (a) Identification and registration 45. Many first responders have limited or no training in the procedural measures to follow when dealing with children in the acute stage of a natural disaster, such as reporting when and to where a child has been transferred or evacuated and any relevant details regarding the identity of the child. 46. To partially remedy this situation, UNICEF and its partners undertake primary responsibility for the identification and registration 29 of children. Following the typhoon emergencies in the Philippines in 2009, UNICEF partnered with the governmental Council 27 28 29 10 General Assembly resolution 64/142, annex; UNICEF’s response to the questionnaire. UNICEF’s response to the questionnaire. Identification relates primarily to the process of establishing where a child has been separated from their family or other care-givers and their intended destination and the location, description and any contact details of their caregiver(s). Registration refers to the compilation of key personal data about the child to establish the identity of the child, both for their protection and to facilitate family tracing and reunification. See also A/HRC/15/56.

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