Is the UK government protecting asylum seeking and refugee children?

Today is the International Day of the Child 2011, when the world’s attention is focused on the welfare and rights of children. The UK is no exception, as the UK Children’s Commissioners have released their Midterm Report on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The report, which can be downloaded in full here (PDF), shows the progress of the UK government in keeping to the commitments it made in ratifying the UNCRC, a set of internationally binding minimum standards for all children and young people in the UK.

A section of the report is dedicated to asylum seeking children, as referred to in articles 22 and 35 of the UNCRC:

 So what progress has the UK government made in achieving these goals, and what still needs to be done?

The UK Children’s Commissioners highlight four main priorities for action:

1)      The UK Government should implement and evaluate new arrangements for family removals

Significant progress has been made in relation to Article 22, including providing children seeking asylum and those who have been trafficked into the UK with the same rights to education, health and support services as British children. The announcement in May 2010 that the UK Government would be ending the detention of children for immigration purposes was another indication of progress. Plans for the new system were published in March 2011 and do contain a provision for enforced ‘family friendly, pre-departure accommodation’, yet remain an improvement on the previous system. It has yet to be seen whether the new process meets the requirements of the UNCRC.

2)      The UK Government should review the current age determining system in order to ensure children have their rights upheld

Little or no progress has been made on this issue since the previous report in 2008. As a result of there being no statutory guidance for local authorities in determining age in any UK jurisdiction it is no surprise that evidence suggests that authorities do not consistently give the benefit of the doubt to a young person claiming to be a child.

3)      Sufficient funding should be given to ensure that children and young people have access to appropriate services

 The Children’s Commissioners are concerned that spending decisions may impact disproportionately the high quality services across the UK for refugee and asylum seeking children. It is imperative that their funding is safeguarded if the State Party’s commitment to the UNCRC is realised. Access to independent help, advocacy and advice is crucial given the vulnerability of this group of children. The Commissioners recommend that each UK administration provides access to a legal guardian who would be appointed as soon as an unaccompanied asylum seeking child is identified, to be maintained until the child is 18 or leaves the country permanently. No progress has been made on this front.

 4)      The UK Government should monitor its commitment to the Council of Europe’s Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings

The Children’s Commissioners welcome the UK Government’s ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. However, further progress is needed as there has been no accompanying formal monitoring mechanism put in place. Of equal concern is the lack of ambition to improve the identification and protection of child victims and the capacity to investigate and successfully prosecute child trafficking offences demonstrated in the UK Government’s Human Trafficking Strategy.

At Refugee Support Network, we are committed to upholding the rights of asylum seeking and refugee young people and to providing them with the information and education they need to make decisions about their future. We welcome this report by the Children’s Commissioners and encourage the Government to continue to work towards protecting the young people who claim asylum in the UK.

Having recently expanded our mentoring programme through a partnership with ECPAT we are increasingly recognising the vulnerability of young asylum seekers to trafficking and sexual exploitation, and along with the Children’s Commissioners stress that the government must put protection mechanisms in place for these young people seeking safety.

Written by Mary Mitchell, Communications Officer and Women's Development Worker.