67 297 migratory or residence status, or lack thereof. In all cases, the guarantees of due process must be 298 strictly observed, as must all other applicable guarantees under the international law of human rights. 316. The petitioners maintained that the Dominican government failed to protect the best interests of the child by not adopting special measures in this regard. The State did not submit any arguments on this specific point. 317. The Commission took as fact that 13/17 children - Wilda Medina, Luis Ney Medina, Carolina Isabel Medina, Nene Fils-Aime, Antonio Fils-Aime, Diane Fils-Aime, Marilobi Fils-Aime, Endry Fils-Aime, Andren Fils-Aime, Juan Fils-Aime, Ana Lidia Sensión, Reyita Antonia Sensión, Berson Gelin, McKenson Jean, Victoria Jean, Miguel Jean and Nathalie Jean - were arrested and expelled to Haiti. The Commission observes that Berson Gelin was unaccompanied by any adult when he was expelled and that Ana Lidia Sensión and Reyita Antonia Sensión were separated from their father. 318. The Commission also observes that the children were not identified at the time of their arrest; no measures were taken to separate them from the adults in custody nor to ensure their right to be heard in relation to such matters; and they were given neither food nor water. The Commission must again make the point that the expulsions had a harmful effect on the family dynamic and meant that children had to cope with special problems in order to remain in school, and had other difficulties to contend with as well. 319. The Commission notes also that although Nene Fils-Aime, Antonio Fils-Aime, Diane FilsAime, Marilobi Fils-Aime, Endry Fils-Aime, Andren Fils-Aime, Juan Fils-Aime and Berson Gelin were born in Dominican territory, they not have official documentation proving their citizenship. Furthermore, although Wilda Medina, Luis Ney Medina, Carolina Isabel Medina, Ana Lidia Sensión, Reyita Antonia Sensión, Victoria Jean, Miguel Jean and Nathalie Jean had documentation that proved their Dominican citizenship, they were denied the opportunity to prove that fact to the competent authorities. The Commission has already established that these practices affected the right to nationality and the right family relations to the detriment of these children, and therefore concludes that these violations also affected their right to identity, according to the standards listed above. 320. The Commission observes that this case involves a sequence of events that begins with the refusal to register births, which makes it impossible to prove citizenship and avail oneself of basic services like health and education; the sequence continues with the ever-present threat of being arbitrarily detained and expelled from the country of which these children are nationals, without taking account of their particular needs as children and adversely affecting the normal development of their personal and family life plan. The sequence ends when they find themselves unable to avail themselves of judicial remedies for the protection of their rights. Also, no measures are taken to prevent the violence and discrimination committed against girls. 321. Given these circumstances, the Commission finds that the Dominican State failed to comply with its international obligations by not taking the measures necessary to take the best interests of the child into account, to ensure their right to be heard, to protect their right to identity and failing to ensure that the children within its territory are protected. The State also failed to provide these children with an environment that would protect them from violence and abuse and did not afford them access to essential goods and services to the point that its failing adversely affected the full development of their personality and their life plan. 297 Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 6. Treatment of Unaccompanied and Separated Children Outside Their Country of Origin, CRC/GC/2005/6, September 1, 2005, paragraph 61. Report of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, September 1, 2005, paragraph 61. Report on the visit of the Working Group to the United Kingdom on the issue of immigrants and asylum seekers, E/CN.4/1999/63/Add.3, p. 37. 298 I/A Court H.R., Advisory Opinion OC-18/03, Juridical Condition and Rights of Undocumented Migrants, September 17, 2003, paragraph 119 and others.