Liberty - Protecting civil liberties, promoting human rights

Liberty Director Shami Chakrabarti said:

“Government has taken a symbolic step which will no doubt spare some blushes in Geneva and Manchester next week, but warm words require real action if this is to be anything other than fools’ gold. It’s easy to weep hot tears for suffering children around the world; then subject them to imprisonment and degradation if they have the audacity to escape to Britain.”

Liberty urged the Government to reform its policies as an urgent priority in the following areas:

● End the detention of child asylum seekers and their families

● Ban the degrading and inhumane treatment of using x-rays to determine the age of child asylum seekers

● Stop the destitution of young asylum seekers by removing benefits at age 18 and not allowing them to work

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises the rights of children who are seeking asylum to appropriate protection and assistance.

Since 1991, the UK Government has retained an opt-out, allowing child asylum seekers to be detained for long periods without proper access to the courts. Reports today indicate that the Government will sign the UNCRC in full before the UN’s report scrutinizing the UK’s human rights record is published next week.

Contact: Jen Corlew on 0207 378 3656 or 0797 3 831 128

Notes to Editors

1) Liberty has intervened in a legal challenge against local authorities being solely responsible for determining the age of unaccompanied child asylum seekers. In “M” and “A” and the London Boroughs’ of Lambeth and Croydon, Liberty argued that the current system is unfair because local authorities must take financial responsibility for child asylum seekers and have a vested interest in deciding an individual is an adult in an attempt to save scarce resources. The case was heard by the Court of Appeal on 17 – 19 September and the judgment is anticipated in October 2008.

2) Liberty has intervened in a case to prevent the UK from returning a mother and child to the Lebanon where they will be separated, as sharia law will give full custody of the child to his father. The Law Lords heard EM (Lebanon) and the Secretary of State for the Home Department and AF and Justice and Liberty on 21- 22 July 2008. The judgment was reserved.

3) Liberty is bringing a legal challenge on behalf of three detainees who claim that during the November 2006 Harmondsworth disturbance they were denied food and water for up to 40 hours; locked in overcrowded, pitch-black rooms flooded with water for more than 24 hours; forced to urinate and defecate in front of each other; and strip searched in front of several officers. Liberty's case against the Home Office and Kalyx Ltd (the contractor running the centre) awaits a date before the Court of Appeal.