A Hostile Environment for Children? The Rights and Best Interests of the Refugee Child in the United Kingdom’s Asylum Law

Abstract

Abstract Children experiencing persecution, torture, ill-treatment, exploitation and violence are compelled to flee across international borders to seek protection in another state. When a child seeks international protection, the framework of rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees should guide a state to determine the child’s status and protection needs. However, a child’s best interests and right to protection may clash with a state’s interest in immigration control. Increasingly, states are implementing strict laws to discourage irregular migration and to encourage those without leave to remain to return to their countries of origin. Such laws or policies have an impact on people seeking international protection, including children. The UK government’s ‘hostile environment’ policy is an example of this and applies to all adults and children who enter the UK irregularly and have no right to remain. I argue that the UK’s approach violates its international obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This article analyses how the children’s rights framework, in particular the ‘best interests’ principle, is able to challenge the UK’s ‘hostile environment’ policy.