A joint statement issued Tuesday on behalf of three UN Special Rapporteurs joined previous condemnation in saying that the UK is failing to “abide by its core obligations under international human rights law” over its approach to migrant children arriving in the country. The rapporteurs say that UK government policy has led to unaccompanied child migrants going missing and being trafficked.
The Rapporteurs called on the UK to “ensure the protection of all children seeking asylum without discrimination and put an end to the practice of placing unaccompanied children in hotels.”
Their statement notes that around “4,600 unaccompanied children have been housed in six hotels since June 2021, and that 440 of these children had disappeared and 220 remained unaccounted for.”
The statement was issued by Siobhán Mullally, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Felipe González Morales, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, and Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences.
The statement was released amid widespread criticism and international scrutiny of the UK government’s proposed Illegal Migration Bill, which would expand government power to detain and remove migrants.
Opposition MPs in the House of Commons, like the SNP’s Alison Thewliss, have raised concerns that the Bill will not assist anyone looking for sanctuary but will simply place a ban on their ability to claim asylum in the UK. Labour Party MP Stephen Kinnock has stated that the lack of facilities to detain asylum seekers and the lack of return agreement means the bill is unworkable.
At the end of last month, Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick announced further plans to house illegal migrants at army barracks and surplus military sites or on vessels and barges in local authorities across the UK.
According to recent statistics, “90% of people who arrived in small boats in 2022 had applied for asylum” whilst “7% (6,210 people) were referred to the National Referral Mechanism,” which identifies potential victims of modern slavery.
