Call for action on child detention

A UK-wide approach to ending the detention of asylum seeking
children is needed, Scottish children’s commissioner Kathleen
Marshall has said.

Marshall, marking the first anniversary of her post, said she would
make the issue one of the themes of her second year in office and
had discussed it recently with English children’s commissioner Al
Aynsley-Green.

She said a joint approach was needed because although Dungavel
detention centre had placed a 72-hour limit on detaining children,
there was nothing stopping them being transferred to English
detention centres once this had lapsed.

“My position is that while these children are here they are
entitled to have their human rights respected. We need a united
approach to ending this – which was one of the recommendations of
[February’s] Save the Children report [on child detention]”
Marshall added.

She said she also wanted to address the removal of failed asylum
seekers’ children in to care, and how to ensure new laws to protect
children from abuse did not discourage adults from working and
playing with them.