UK eligibility criteria for children entering under the Dubs Amendment need to meet human rights standards

Written declaration No. 627 | Doc. 14259 | 26 January 2017

Signatories:

Ms Petra De SUTTER, Belgium, SOC ; Ms Eka BESELIA, Georgia, SOC ; Ms Maryvonne BLONDIN, France, SOC ; Ms Sílvia Eloïsa BONET, Andorra, SOC ; Mr Piet De BRUYN, Belgium, NR ; Ms Anastasia CHRISTODOULOPOULOU, Greece, UEL ; Ms Tamar CHUGOSHVILI, Georgia, SOC ; Ms Pascale CROZON, France, SOC ; Mr Constantinos EFSTATHIOU, Cyprus, SOC ; Mr Pierre-Alain FRIDEZ, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Simonas GENTVILAS, Lithuania, ALDE ; Ms Annette GROTH, Germany, UEL ; Ms Susanna HUOVINEN, Finland, SOC ; Mr Niklas KARLSSON, Sweden, SOC ; Mr Zviad KVATCHANTIRADZE, Georgia, SOC ; Mr Luís LEITE RAMOS, Portugal, EPP/CD ; Mr Philippe MAHOUX, Belgium, SOC ; Baroness Doreen MASSEY, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Martine MERGEN, Luxembourg, EPP/CD ; Mr René ROUQUET, France, SOC ; Ms Ulla SANDBÆK, Denmark, UEL ; Ms Tineke STRIK, Netherlands, SOC ; Mr Dimitri TSKITISHVILI, Georgia, SOC

This written declaration does not reflect the position of the Assembly; only of those members that have signed it. It will not be considered further by the Assembly.

In light of the dismantling of the "Calais Jungle", the United Kingdom has pledged to allow 3 000 unaccompanied minors to enter the country under Article 67 of its Immigration Act 2016 (known as the "Dubs Amendment"). Although we welcome this effort and recognise that the task of aiding these minors is not one for France and the United Kingdom alone, we are concerned about the recently published Implementation Guidelines of Article 67. These guidelines exclude any unaccompanied minor who is above the age of 12, not of Sudanese or Syrian nationality and not referred to by the French authorities as being at risk of sexual exploitation. They also exclude Syrian or Sudanese children above the age of 15 and not at risk of sexual exploitation.

We call on the United Kingdom to respect a child's right to family life and to respect its right to have his or her case reviewed in a non-discriminatory way. We call on the United Kingdom to uphold the Convention on the Rights of the Children and to consider everyone under 18 as being a child.