Committee on the Rights of the Child expresses deep concern at UK asylum policy and legislation
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has expressed deep concern over the impact of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 and the potential impact of the Illegal Migration Bill on children seeking asylum in the UK.
Image credit: WikipediaThe Committee examined the UK last month during its 93rd session and today published its findings. You can access the concluding observations here.
In its concluding observations, the Committee called on the UK Government to urgently amend the Illegal Migration Bill, noting that it lacks a consideration of the principle of the best interests of the child and it would violate children's rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Refugee Convention.
The Committee also expressed deep concern over the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 and called for its amendment. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children should be supported and not criminalised, the UN committee said.
The section of the concluding observations relating to asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children is reproduced below:
J. Special protection measures (arts. 22, 30, 32–33, 35–36, 37 (b)–(d) and 38–40)
Asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children
49. The Committee is deeply concerned about:
(a) Restrictions to the rights of asylum and family reunification, the criminalization of arrival without prior permission and the introduction of a two-tiered system for identifying refugee children, under the Nationality and Borders Act of 2022;
(b) The potential impact of the Illegal Migration Bill on children, which includes a ban on the right to claim asylum, allows for the prolonged detention and removal of children, creates barriers for acquiring nationality, and lacks a consideration of the principle of the best interests of the child;
(c) The persistent use of unreliable methods for determining a child's age, the large number of children whose age has been disputed, and the lack of data on the number of asylum-seekers claiming to be children who have been assessed and sometimes detained as adults by immigration officials.
50. With reference to joint general comments No. 3 and No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families/No. 22 and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the human rights of children in the context of international migration, the Committee urges the State party to:
(a) Urgently amend the Illegal Migration Bill to repeal all draft provisions that would have the effect of violating children's rights under the Convention and the 1951 Refugee Convention, and bring the Bill in line with the State party's obligations under international human rights law to ensure children's right to nationality, to seek asylum and to have their best interests taken as a primary consideration, as well as to prevent their prolonged detention and removal;
(b) Amend the Nationality and Borders Act to abolish the designation of "Group 2" status to certain groups of refugee children, and ensure that all asylum-seeking and refugee children, including unaccompanied children, are not criminalized and have access to necessary support and services;
(c) Review and strengthen the asylum process to ensure that children receive age-appropriate information and legal advice about their rights, asylum procedures and requirements for documentation; that their best interests are given primary consideration in all asylum processes; that their views are heard, taken into account and given due weight; and that they have access to child-friendly justice mechanisms and remedies;
(d) Strengthen measures to ensure that all asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children have equal and prompt access to education, health services, housing, psychosocial support, and social protection including benefit entitlements;
(e) Put an end to the use of unreliable and invasive procedures for determining a child's age; develop an age determination procedure that is child- and gender-sensitive, includes multidisciplinary assessments conducted by relevant professionals of the child's maturity and level of development, and respects the legal principle of the benefit of the doubt; and ensure that children have access to legal advice throughout the process and, if necessary, can challenge the outcome of such assessments;
(f) Ensure that children and age-disputed children are not removed to a third country;
(g) Develop a consistent, statutory system of independent guardianship for all unaccompanied children, and ensure that all unaccompanied children throughout all jurisdictions of the State party are promptly identified and appointed a professionally trained guardian;
(h) Review its system of family reunification involving unaccompanied children, with a view to ensuring that children have an unqualified right to apply for family reunification and that applications are considered in a consistent, expeditious and child rights-based approach, and that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in all related decisions.
Children without a regular residence status
51. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Repeal its "Hostile Environment" policy and ensure the access of children without a regular residence status to independent legal representation, social protection and welfare benefits;
(b) Remove the designation of children without a regular residence status and their families into administrative categories that prevent them from accessing certain services, such as the "No Recourse to Public Funds" throughout all jurisdictions of the State party or "non-belonger" in the Overseas Territories;
(c) Implement long-term solutions for the regularization of children without a regular residence status, including by ensuring that all such children in the Overseas Territories are issued identity documents, and strengthen measures to prevent their social exclusion.
Trafficking
52. Noting with appreciation the piloting of a new national referral mechanism on trafficking and a system of independent child trafficking guardians, the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Continue to strengthen measures aimed at ensuring the identification and referral of child victims of trafficking to appropriate child-friendly services, including by implementing the national referral mechanism throughout the State party;
(b) Ensure that child victims of trafficking are always treated as victims and have access to the necessary support and services, including psychological support and legal assistance; and establish the system of independent child trafficking guardians throughout the State party;
(c) Investigate all cases of trafficking of children, using intersectoral and child-sensitive proceedings, and bring perpetrators to justice.