Home Office accused of attempting to deport unaccompanied minors to Rwanda
The Home Office has been accused of attempting to deport unaccompanied minors to Rwanda in the first wave of asylum seekers to be sent to east Africa later in June.
Charities claim there is a “worrying pattern” of asylum seekers who are under the age of 18 being classed as adults by the government. The refugee charity Care4Calais is currently engaged in an age dispute with the Home Office over two teenage boys who have been issued with notices of removal. While the boys say they are 16, the Home Office – after undertaking age assessments – claim they are 23 and 26 respectively. “It is essential that proper age assessments are done before any deportation takes place,” the charity said in a statement, pledging to use its lawyers to challenge the notices. “One (of the) 16-year-old (boys) saw his brother killed in front of him when his village was raided in Sudan. He escaped and went back later to find the whole village gone.”
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Anti-trafficking charity Love146 UK similarly expressed alarm over the government’s age assessment system for asylum seekers. Campaigns manager Daniel Sohege told The Guardian the charity is seeing children “as young as 14 being incorrectly age-assessed as 23”. He added: “The number of children we have seen who have just had 1999 put down as their date of birth when they are clearly under 18 is highly concerning, and putting young people at risk.” Lauren Starkey, a social worker for the charity, told the newspaper: “It is not within the realm of possibility that anyone, especially someone trained in child protection, could look at the children we have seen and believe they are in their 20s.” The claims come after the Home Office said it will not remove any person from the UK if it is “unsafe or inappropriate” to do so, and denied that unaccompanied minors will be among those sent to Rwanda as part of the government’s controversial scheme to process migrants offshore. Earlier this week, Home Secretary Priti Patel said she is “absolutely determined” that the UK will send migrants to Rwanda despite the prospect of legal challenges being mounted by human rights groups. The Home Office has begun formally notifying migrants of their removal to Rwanda, with the first deportation flight expected to depart on June 14.
The government described the move as the “final administrative step” in its partnership with the east African nation, whereby people who are deemed to have entered the UK illegally will be encouraged to rebuild their lives thousands of miles away. Despite the prospect of the removals being held up by court action from human rights groups, Ms Patel said she is “resolute” about delivering the scheme “for the British public”. She added: “It is unprecedented. It’s the first of its kind and I can tell you something else – it’s exactly what the British people want.” Described by Ms Patel as a “world-first” agreement when it was announced last month, the deportation policy will see asylum seekers deemed to have entered the UK by illegal means sent to Rwanda, where their claims will be processed. If successful, they will be granted asylum or given refugee status in the country. Those with failed bids will be offered the chance to apply for visas under other immigration routes if they wish to remain in Rwanda, but could still face deportation.