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Chapter 1 | Introduction The U.K. has yet to follow the guidance provided by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its General Comment No. 6 (2005). This states: indicate that a greater percentage of unaccompanied or separated children than adults arrive from certain countries of origin. These data should prompt analysis and have an impact on policy. The Immigration and Nationality Directorate’s own Country Information and Policy Unit should ask why more children than adults are fleeing from particular countries, by expanding its sources of information to include such bodies as the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Anti-Slavery International, and UNICEF. Instead its information deficit failure leads decision makers to be unaware of practices or events which are the basis for the fear being expressed by many unaccompanied or separated child asylum seekers. In addition to these evidentiary problems, our research revealed a fundamental legal issue: many immigration officers and case workers simply did not accept that child trafficking or the forcible recruitment of child soldiers can give rise to a right to international protection under the Refugee Convention. When assessing refugee claims of unaccompanied or separated children, States shall take into account the development of, and formative relationships between international human rights and refugee law.... In particular, the refugee definition of the 1951 Refugee Convention must be interpreted in an age and gendersensitive manner, taking into account the particular motives for, and forms and manifestations of, persecution experienced by children. Persecution of kin; under-age recruitment; trafficking of children for prostitution; and sexual exploitation or subjection to female genital mutilation, are some of the child-specific forms and manifestations of persecution which may justify the granting of refugee status if such acts are related to one of the 1951 Refugee Convention grounds. The U.K. authorities’ failure to create and develop an appropriate legal framework may be attributable to two factors. The first is the “culture of disbelief” shared by all levels of decision makers in relation to asylum seekers, particularly — it would appear — unaccompanied or separated children who apply for asylum. The second is the Government’s characterization of asylum seekers as a “problem” to be dealt with by seeking ways to minimize the flow of applicants rather than as a group of particularly vulnerable migrants. The “culture of disbelief” has a number of different facets, some of which are interlinked. There is firstly a widely held assumption that children are appendages of adults who do not attract persecution in their own right. An unaccompanied or separated child who applies for asylum is thus presumed to have done so at the instigation of an adult, to gain preferment rather than because of a real need for protection. Our research revealed that decision mak- Hosted by www.ijjo.org 11
ers often believe that although a parent might be in The countries now being looked at are Angola, the danger of persecution for political views, the only Democratic Republic of Congo, and Vietnam and harm facing the child (and thus the reason for the the government is currently exploring mechanisms child’s travel abroad) was disruption to their educa- to ascertain the adequacy of reception and care tion. Secondly, there is a mistaken belief that societies arrangements for returned children in these coun- in general will protect their youngest members and tries. Since Angola and the Democratic Republic afford them privileged rather than abusive treatment. of Congo do not have a child protection infra This leads decision makers to reject accounts of tor- structure or local social services departments and ture and gross ill treatment as incredible. Thirdly, Vietnam is known to be a source country for child there is a failure to comprehend the fact that politi- trafficking, it is doubtful whether the standards cal, economic and social instability, pervasive in many applied to these child care provisions will be suffi- regions of the world today, inevitably separates chil- ciently high to conform to international human dren from their families and places them at risk of rights standards for children. a wide range of types of persecution. This lack of The Government is also consulting on an comprehension leads to an assumption that child Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children [UASC] asylum seekers have a family hidden away awaiting Reform Programme. One proposal is to “develop them when they choose to return home. assessment and placement services in selected partner local authorities operating as regional resources... The impact of this culture of disbelief is presently which would offer the prospect of allocating more attenuated in part by the fact that unaccompa- UASC away from high cost areas in London and the nied or separated children are cared for within the general and long established U.K. child protection framework. Therefore, as long as their age is not disputed, asylum SEEKING ASYLUM ALONE | UNITED KINGDOM 12 seeking children can expect to be accommodated by a local authority and have access to educational, health, and other services during the initial asylum determination process and whilst they bring any subsequent asylum or human rights 16 appeal. Until very recently they could also expect to be granted discretionary leave to remain in the U.K. until they became 18. However, the U.K. Government is now actively exploring the feasibility of returning unaccompanied or separated children whose applications for asylum have been refused and who have exhausted any appeal rights to their countries of origin. Hosted by www.ijjo.org
Page 1 and 2: Unaccompanied and Separated Childre
Page 3 and 4: ABOUT THE AUTHORS Jacqueline Bhabha
Page 5 and 6: Manchester City Council; Sue Fisher
Page 7 and 8: Contents Chapter 1 | 9 Chapter 5 |
Page 9 and 10: SEEKING ASYLUM ALONE | UNITED KINGD
Page 11: Arriving in the U.K. 6 The Immigrat
Page 15 and 16: fear of certain groups in society t
Page 17 and 18: that unaccompanied minor children f
Page 21 and 22: It then added that “although chil
Page 23 and 24: 2004 it rose to 8.8%. This was at a
Page 25 and 26: 2.3 Countries of Origin Unaccompani
Page 27 and 28: Recommendations ■ 1. If the U.K.
Page 29 and 30: There was no comparable age differe
Page 31 and 32: 2.7 Private Fostering Arrangements
Page 33 and 34: Endnotes 9 Statistics published by
Page 37 and 38: unfounded, thus depriving this subs
Page 39 and 40: Bill in Parliament which would have
Page 43 and 44: of someone who might be an unaccomp
Page 45 and 46: It is clear that the Rules are a po
Page 47 and 48: subsequently abducted by their form
Page 49 and 50: “G” was a 16-year-old Christian
Page 51 and 52: ■ 4. Article 4 of the European Co
Page 53 and 54: 17 A multi-agency task force establ
Page 57 and 58: of the asylum determination process
Page 59 and 60: as a group around the claimant laug
Page 61 and 62: with as being hostile. Nor did they
Page 63 and 64:
purposes. 38 The Immigration and Na
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or local authority social services
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SEEKING ASYLUM ALONE | UNITED KINGD
Page 69 and 70:
als from age disputed children deta
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and February 2005 when 75% of those
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accommodation which is separated fr
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e safe to let the child go and live
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case, that adult is advised to info
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The official justification for thes
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Asylum Support Team has a case load
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days and a second review after thre
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provides access to rehabilitation a
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who the child must try to relate to
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adult in their life to speak on the
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8.3 Role of a Legal Guardian rights
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asylum application and monitor the
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do once I got to London. The pictur
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Some social services departments do
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■ 5. The screening interview shou
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eturn to a country requiring servic
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■ 6. The syllabus for the Accredi
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this research believe that it is no
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A recent White Paper 13 states that
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an important and distinct role to p
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for Determining Refugee Status. 30
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draws on a small number of other re
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■ 3. UNHCR also states that the q
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contact the child via social servic
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It is not possible to ascertain the
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leave to remain if it was unlikely
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“Unaccompanied children are not g
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5 IND. Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking
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until they turn 18, whichever is th
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“There are some exceptionally goo
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could have been allowed. In one of
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esisting removal to their countries
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■ 3. The Law Society and the Lega
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determinations we analyzed this did
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42 Interview with Laura Brownlees,
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should resolve this difficulty. The
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A number of legal representatives b
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Department at appeals by unaccompan
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Basis Upon Which Appeals Were Allow
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Basis Upon Which Appeals Were Allow
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Recommendations 14 Immigration Rule
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concern the plethora of evidence of
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As a consequence of these restricti
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■ ■ accommodate unaccompanied o
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that the vast majority of referrals
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ecause of long waiting lists and be
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which would have provided for a leg
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screening interview and do not real
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■ 9.9 The interviewer should alwa
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excessive delay in reaching a decis
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children, or anyone who had been re
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appeal. The Asylum Policy Unit has
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and adjudicators rarely prevented t
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22 Information provided by Ailish K
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A P P E N D I X 1 Glossary of Terms
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Bibliography Amnesty International.
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Immigration Advisory Service. Submi
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FOR MORE INFORMATION PHOTOGRAPHY CR
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