4(1)), the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings
affecting them (Article 4(2)) and the right to survival and development (Article 5).
Other Articles of relevance include the rights to be registered immediately after birth
(Article 6), to education (Article 11), to health (Article 14), to protection against abuse
(Article 16), to the enjoyment of parental care and protection (Article 19), and to
special protection and assistance when separated from parents (Article 25).
13.
In this General Comment, unless otherwise expressly stated, the following
expressions shall be interpreted and applied as explained herein below:
13.1 “Mother” should be understood not only a “mother” but also to include a
“father” and any “caregiver” under whose custody a child is placed either
under recognized formal arrangements or informal mechanisms available
in a given society. In this context, the expression “mother” entails
“parents” and “caregivers” who may include a grandparent, a relative, or a
member of the extended family who, according to certain prevailing
circumstances like death or illness of the child‟s parents, becomes the
primary caregiver or main supporter of the child;
13.2 “Imprisonment” should entail that it is not necessary that the place of
deprivation of liberty of a child‟s parent or primary caregiver is official.
Imprisonment, in the context of this General Comment, should also be
applicable to both formal and informal carceral, remand and prison
facilities. It should further apply to secret places where deprivation of
liberty of a parent or caregiver may take place, including retention centres,
secret prisons or other non-official detention places. In addition,
“imprisonment” should include pre-trial detention.
1.3 An individualized, informed and qualitative approach
14. The issue of children of incarcerated primary caregivers is not susceptible to
formalistic determinations of children‟s best interests. For instance, both the “child-atrisk” narrative and the “good mother” narrative that exist in a number of laws and
policies in African countries are stereotyped and oversimplified and contribute, in
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