The committee went on to clarify the purpose of the proposed law:
"The main purpose of the proposed Children's Law is to ensure that the state's attitude toward a child, his parents and his family, is coherent, is guided by uniform moral positions with regard to children, is carried out over a structured and systematic continuum of action, which takes into account, among other things, the motif of time in a child's life and the importance of adhering to schedules that match his development, and expressing the child's being a person with rights that must be respected and promoted. Such a law will not only promote the implementation of various rights of children in accordance with the principles of the Convention, but also streamline administrative and legal proceedings, save public resources, shorten the duration of proceedings and better coordination between different courts."
(My emphasis - M.A.C.).
To this day, twenty years later, there is still no comprehensive law, but provisions relating to this matter have been incorporated into various laws. Unfortunately, the matter of children of foreigners or stateless persons in Israel has not been regulated in legislation, nor in the Authority's procedures in an orderly manner.
The best interests of the child in the context of migration and asylum
- כאמור לעיל, טובת הילד מתחייבת גם בהקשר של ילדים פליטים, ובכלל בהקשר של מבקשי מקלט (ראו לעניין זה: Jason Pobjoy, "Refugee Children", in: Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law, (Cathryn Costello, Michelle Foster & Jane McAdam, eds, part 5, pp. 745 (Oxford University Press 2022), להלן: Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law. עוד ראו: Frances Nicholson, The Right to Family Reunification, in Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law, part 5, pp. 1003-1004.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has determined that when dealing with the right to family life of children in the context of asylum and migration, the preservation of family unity must be taken into account as a primary factor, as well as the child's position (according to his age and understanding); the security, protection and care of the child in each of the options considered; as well as the right of children to health services. CRC Committee, General Comments No. 14 (2013) on the Right of the Child to Have His or Her Best Interest Taken as a Primary Consideration, UN doc CRC/C/G/GC/14 (29 May 2013)). It was also determined that the child's best interests require, in most cases, that he stay with both parents.
- The Supreme Court addressed the best interests of the child in the context of immigration and asylum, as well as the rights and interests of foreign children in Israel. Thus, in the appeal of Petition/Administrative Claim 10993/08 Anonymous v. State of Israel - Ministry of the Interior (Nevo 10.03.10), the Honorable Justice Neil Hendel noted the central place of the principle of the best interests of the child in administrative law, even according to Jewish law. In the Dimitrov case , the Honorable Justice Eliyahu Matza emphasized the duty of the Minister of the Interior to consider the best interests of the child in the framework of the examination of their parents' applications for status (ibid., at para. 8):
"The principle of the best interests of the child has long been recognized as a central value in our legal system, and there is no need to elaborate on its importance. Indeed, as a rule, "there is no possibility of dealing with the matter of minors without examining their best interests" (Civil Appeal 7206/93 Gabbay v. Gabbay, IsrSC 51(2) 241, 251). Even in formulating his decision, which decrees the fate of a foreign parent's status in Israel, the Minister of the Interior is incumbent upon considering, inter alia, the best interests of the parent's child and the impact of the decision on his situation... The best interest of the child is, therefore, a consideration that the respondent must take into account in the course of the examination process."