NSPCC response to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children reform

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Thursday, 31, Jan 2008 12:00

Home Office reforms may send vulnerable children back to danger

The NSPCC today warned that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children fleeing from danger and persecution will be put at even more risk by new Home Office reforms announced today, 31 January.

The new rules give the Border and Immigration Authority the power to forcibly return children back to places where their safety cannot always be guaranteed. The NSPCC is dismayed that children could be returned to face the same atrocities from which they may have fled without any definite guarantee of their safety.

Previously unaccompanied asylum-seeking children had the right to stay in the UK up until the age of 18. Today’s decision will mean that children who are frightened, alone and may not speak English are being forced through an asylum process which is unsuitable for children.

NSPCC director and chief executive Mary Marsh said: “The UK Government appears to be turning its back on children who have been separated from their families and their communities, and who may have suffered trauma or persecution.

“The majority of these children will be alone, frightened and unable to speak English and therefore powerless to explain why their safety depends upon remaining in the UK.

"As a result, children who cannot make their case for asylum may be returned to the dangers from which they have fled. Others may attempt to go underground in the UK to avoid deportation, putting them at risk of exploitation.

"Separated children are struggling to cope with the circumstances that have led them to flee their country of origin as well as experiencing loss and grief for their families and homeland. For these children, negotiating the asylum process alone and in a foreign language can be traumatic and confusing. The NSPCC calls on the Government to give separated children a right to an independent guardian who can help ensure that they are given the time, support, information, advice and resources to understand the process and present their claim as effectively as possible.

“The NSPCC believes that all separated children are children first and foremost. The asylum process should not discriminate against children by operating in a way that does not take account of their needs and vulnerability.”

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