Unaccompanied children deported under EU regulations
Unaccompanied children deported under EU regulations
Hundreds of children have been deported to other European Union nations under new European regulations applied by the UK Government to remove asylum seekers to the country where they first entered.
Children and Young People Now, an online forum for professionals working with young people aged 1 to 19, reports that the majority of children deported so far were unaccompanied.
According to figures released in Parliament, 445 children have been removed, 334 of whom were unaccompanied since 2004.
The regulations - referred to as the Dublin II Regulation - allow the UK to send anyone claiming asylum back to the country where they first entered the European Union. Once beyond its borders, the UK takes no responsibility for what happens to children asylum seekers.
The regulations conflict with Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, which states that the government has an obligation ‘to safeguard and promote the welfare of children who are in the United Kingdom’.
Prominent international organisations, including UNHCR and the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, have called for the amendment or abolition of the regulation. The Testimony Project adds its voice to the organisations criticising the Dublin II Regulation.
Photo taken from The Independent.