Government ‘to end discrimination against asylum-seeking children’
Children seeking asylum and those who have been trafficked into the UK are to receive the same rights to education, health and support services as British children, according to the BBC today.
Friday 19 September 2008
The move, which would represent a reversal of previous government policy, has been hailed by Save the Children UK as a major breakthrough if true.
The reports follow a six-month Home Office review of the general reservation on immigration and citizenship to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
Withdrawing the reservation would mean that vulnerable children who are subject to immigration control will now be entitled to the fundamental human rights set out in the CRC.
This comes after a 15 year campaign by Save the Children UK calling for change. If the reports are accurate the changes would be “a huge campaigning success”, the children’s charity said.
Jasmine Whitbread, Chief Executive of Save the Children UK, said: “This would be a major step forward. For a whole generation, vulnerable children have been denied their rights because of their immigration status. First and foremost, they are children and their rights must be protected. We are delighted if the government is to recognise this.”
Save the Children UK has consistently lobbied the UK government on this issue since 1991, when the reservation was put in place.
Reports also suggest that the government will adopt two further measures under the UN CRC: on the separation of children from adults in the prison system; and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. If so, the UK would be fully in line with the UN CRC.
