UK all Parliament Committee calls for an end to the detention of children

• Posted on Mar 30, 2007

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NCADC News Service
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The report roundly condemns the present system of dealing with those seeking asylum in the UK, not just by the Government but also by the media.

The full report is on our resource page

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The Treatment of Asylum Seekers

House of Lords, House of Commons

Joint Committee On Human Rights Tenth Report

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200607/jtselect/jtrights/81/8103.htm

In this Report, the Committee considered human rights issues raised by the treatment of asylum seekers, from the time when they first claimed asylum in the UK, through to either the granting of asylum, or, for asylum seekers whose claims are refused, their departure from the UK.

Many asylum seekers and refused asylum seekers are vulnerable individuals who are reliant on protection and support from others. The majority usually have no right to work and are dependent on the state for access to housing, health care, food and other necessities.

. . . . the current system is overly complex, poorly administered, offers inadequate information and advice to ensure that people receive the support to which they are entitled and in some cases denies any support at all to those who are destitute.

. . . . . by refusing permission for asylum seekers to work and operating a system of support which results in widespread destitution, the Government's treatment of asylum seekers in a number of cases reaches the Article 3 ECHR threshold of inhuman and degrading treatment.

. . . . The restrictions on access to free healthcare for refused asylum seekers who are unable to leave the UK are examples of nationality discrimination which require justification. The Committee recommends that free primary and secondary healthcare be provided for all those who have made a claim for asylum or under the ECHR whilst they are in the UK, in order to comply with the laws of common humanity and the UK's international human rights obligations, and to protect the health of the nation (paragraph 170) .

It does not accept that that the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) [that the UK Government has refused to sign in full] undermines effective immigration controls, and recommends that the reservation be withdrawn and that the Government consider how section 11 of the Children Act, which imposes a duty on public bodies to have regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in discharging their normal functions, could be extended to include authorities providing support for asylum seekers, the Immigration Service and Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) (paragraphs 180 to 182).

. . . . expresses concerns about the use of fast track detention, and about detention of vulnerable people such as victims of torture, pregnant women and those with serious mental and physical health problems.

. . . . the Committee considers in detail the detention of children and finds that the current process of detention does not consider the welfare of the child. It concludes that the detention of children for the purpose of immigration control is incompatible with children's right to liberty and is in breach of the UK's international human rights obligations. The Committee states that children should not be detained and alternatives should be developed for ensuring compliance with immigration control where this is considered necessary (paragraph 259).

. . . the Committee considers the treatment of asylum seekers by the media and reviews the evidence it received of negative media coverage of asylum. It expresses concerns about the impact of this hostile reporting, the potential it has for influencing the decision making of officials and Government policy, and the possibility of a link between such reporting by the media and physical attacks on asylum seekers.

End of Bulletin:

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