Britain is falling short of obligations set out under international law for dealing with migrant children who arrive in the country without parents or relatives, a group of parliamentarians has warned.
Immigration concerns are too often given priority over the protection of unaccom-panied migrant children, including abuse victims and those who have fled conflict zones, the Joint Committee on Human Rights found.
The committee said the UK is failing to meet terms of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a treaty bound by international law. It also calls on the Government not to return any children to Afghanistan or Iraq while conflict and humanitarian concerns persist.
In 2012, around 1200 such children sought asylum in the UK, and around 2150 unaccom- panied migrant children were being cared for by local authorities.
Committee chairman Dr Hywel Francis MP said: "Unaccompanied migrant children in the asylum and immigration processes are some of the most vulnerable young people in the United Kingdom. They have often fled conflict situations abroad or have been victims of abuse and exploitation, including those who arrive as victims of trafficking. It is crucial they are supported effectively."
Children who had often faced traumatic journeys were given intensive interviews on arrival for which there were too rarely interpreting facilities available, the committee said. There was also evidence of children being placed in inappropriate accommodation without suitably trained staff.
The committee, made up of MPs and peers, said a lack of support was "starkly" demonstrated by the "culture of disbelief" about the age of unaccompanied asylum- seeking children.
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