15/05/06
The National Assembly Against Racism has joined the campaign led
by Save the Children, the Refugee Council, the Welsh Refugee Council, the
Scottish Refugee Council and Bail for Immigration Detainees calling for a
change in government policy to end the detention of children in immigration
detention centres. Add your voice to end the inhuman practice of children's
detention.
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These children have not committed any crime but are held
behind locked doors and high barbed wire fences. Five years ago it
was rare for families and children to be detained for immigration
purposes. Now, members of the No Place for a Child coalition have
documented detentions lasting anything from 7 to 268 days.
Detaining these children is wrong - regardless
of the merits of a family's asylum case
Why detention
is wrong
•Children can be held for long periods of time. One child was
held for 268 days.
•Children feel that they are being punished and do not
understand why. Many are left traumatised by the experience with a
negative impact on their health, well-being and education.
•Detention can be particularly traumatic for families who have
already fled from conflict and torture in their own country to
seek safety in the UK.
•The UK government's use of detention for children and families
is in contravention of international human rights standards.
The No Place for a Child coalition
demands that the UK government:
•ends the detention of these vulnerable children and babies.
•trials more viable alternatives to detention, examples of
which can be found in other countries
What you can
do
Lobby
the Home Secretary and your MP - it will only take a few
minutes
Encourage others to join our campaign to end the detention of
these children. The more postcards and emails that are sent, the
greater our chance of success
The No Place for a Child
coalition is made up of Save the Children UK, Refugee Council, Bail
for Immigration Detainees and the Scottish and Welsh Refugee
Councils.
www.noplaceforachild.org.uk
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