Directive improves plight of children fleeing persecution

The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture is calling on the government to formally withdraw its long held reservation to the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child ( CRC) following a European directive this week that will improve the plight of asylum-seeking children in Britain.

EU Council Directive 2004/83/EC on the minimum standards for determining the status of those needing international protection, which the UK government has agreed to, and implemented by regulation on Monday (October 9), states unequivocally: "The "best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration" when dealing with minors seeking asylum.

The directive makes no mention of the reservation the UK took out against the convention when it was ratified in 1989, which has allowed immigration control considerations to override the "best interests of the child" in cases involving unaccompanied children and the child dependants of asylum seekers.

This led to children being detained with little or no assessment of their needs, and the recent drawing up of plans to forcibly repatriate hundreds of minors back to their countries of origin, despite fears that they could be subjected to exploitation and trafficking.

Frequent calls by child rights and asylum campaigners for the reservation to be withdrawn have always been rejected, with the government claiming that the Immigration and Nationality Directorate "takes its responsibilities towards the children it encounters extremely seriously."

The EU directive, which is part of the drive towards establishing a common asylum policy among EU members by 2010, supercedes British law, rendering the reservation obsolete. The Medical Foundation's children's lawyer Syd Bolton says it ends "a long and regrettable chapter" in officialdom's approach to children fleeing persecution.

"With the reservation, immigration control was always the paramount factor to be considered," he said. "All Home Office policy towards asylum seeking children was shaped with that in mind. It must now be withdrawn.

"In future, when determining the claim of an adult seeker with a child dependant, the Home Office will have to consciously keep the best interests of the child uppermost in mind, actively investigating their experiences and listening to their views.

"And decisions to detain children as part of the asylum process, without proper assessment of their individual protection and welfare needs, simply cannot continue.

"In the case of children who have suffered or witnessed torture, the need to have regard to their "well being" will include the right to psychological recovery in an environment of dignity and respect, not just a cessation of persecution. The design and implementation of the New Asylum Model under which all asylum claims will in future be dealt with will also have to take that fully into account.

"This should make the decision process more child-appropriate and therefore a safer system of protection. Thresholds of pain and suffering are different for children - a child's understanding of harm requires a much more sensitive approach. In future, decisions at all levels, including the courts must be made in a way which recognises the special vulnerabilities of these children.

"The directive is a milestone along the way to securing full and equal rights for child victims of torture and serious harm."