Without My Family Report
February 6, 2020
Children need their parents
As if fleeing conflict and persecution wasn’t enough. For child refugees in the UK, safety can come at a heavy price. This report by Amnesty International UK, Refugee Council and Save the Children, Without My Family, highlights the devastating impact on children who have already experienced so much.
The impact of separation
The report from Amnesty International, Refugee Council and Save the Children exposes the impact on child refugees living in the UK of being separated from their families.The children we spoke to told us how the government’s policy of keeping families apart caused them constant anxiety, fear for the safety of their parents and siblings and in some cases serious damage to their mental health.
The UK government’s refusal to guarantee a child’s right to family reunification is in breach of its international obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The arguments the government puts forward in denying these rights revolve around an unfounded fear of encouraging dangerous journeys by more asylum seeking children. Nothing in this research, or wider research into the issue supports this contention. The children we spoke to invite the government to imagine themselves or their families in a similar situation.