*/
The Bar Human Rights Committee (BHRC) has called on the government to lift the arbitrary cut-off date for applications from unaccompanied children to come to the UK and increase the number of children it will accept.
The BHRC also called for authorities to implement proper procedures for evaluating child refugee applications, including providing access to legal advice and written reasoning for refusals.
The demands came in a critical report documenting the demolition of the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp last October and subsequent failures by French and UK authorities to protect and process the estimated 1,000 unaccompanied minors living in the camp.
The report, Breakdown: the dismantling of theCalais ‘Jungle’ and of the promises to its unaccompanied children, concluded that the authorities failed to take effective steps to safeguard the welfare and safety of unaccompanied children, leaving many at risk.
Children, it said, were subjected to a chaotic and unlawful age verification and registration process, based in some cases on physical appearance alone, and given inadequate information about the process for admitting unaccompanied children into the UK under the Dubs Amendment
BHRC Chair, Kirsty Brimelow QC, said: ‘The unaccompanied children of Calais have faced horror, both in their home countries and in France, in “the Jungle” camp. Nearly a year later, the horror continues as children remain vulnerable to trafficking, abuse, starvation and disease.’
The Bar Human Rights Committee (BHRC) has called on the government to lift the arbitrary cut-off date for applications from unaccompanied children to come to the UK and increase the number of children it will accept.
The BHRC also called for authorities to implement proper procedures for evaluating child refugee applications, including providing access to legal advice and written reasoning for refusals.
The demands came in a critical report documenting the demolition of the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp last October and subsequent failures by French and UK authorities to protect and process the estimated 1,000 unaccompanied minors living in the camp.
The report, Breakdown: the dismantling of theCalais ‘Jungle’ and of the promises to its unaccompanied children, concluded that the authorities failed to take effective steps to safeguard the welfare and safety of unaccompanied children, leaving many at risk.
Children, it said, were subjected to a chaotic and unlawful age verification and registration process, based in some cases on physical appearance alone, and given inadequate information about the process for admitting unaccompanied children into the UK under the Dubs Amendment
BHRC Chair, Kirsty Brimelow QC, said: ‘The unaccompanied children of Calais have faced horror, both in their home countries and in France, in “the Jungle” camp. Nearly a year later, the horror continues as children remain vulnerable to trafficking, abuse, starvation and disease.’
Chair of the Bar reflects on 2025
Q&A with criminal barrister Nick Murphy, who moved to New Park Court Chambers on the North Eastern Circuit in search of a better work-life balance
Revolt Cycling in Holborn, London’s first sustainable fitness studio, invites barristers to join the revolution – turning pedal power into clean energy
Rachel Davenport, Co-founder and Director at AlphaBiolabs, reflects on how the company’s Giving Back ethos continues to make a difference to communities across the UK
By Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
AlphaBiolabs has made a £500 donation to Sean’s Place, a men’s mental health charity based in Sefton, as part of its ongoing Giving Back initiative
Little has changed since Burns v Burns . Cohabiting couples deserve better than to be left on the blasted heath with the existing witch’s brew for another four decades, argues Christopher Stirling
Six months of court observation at the Old Bailey: APPEAL’s Dr Nisha Waller and Tehreem Sultan report their findings on prosecution practices under joint enterprise
Despite its prevalence, autism spectrum disorder remains poorly understood in the criminal justice system. Does Alex Henry’s joint enterprise conviction expose the need to audit prisons? asks Dr Felicity Gerry KC
With automation now deeply embedded in the Department for Work Pensions, Alexander McColl and Alexa Thompson review what we know, what we don’t and avenues for legal challenge
Why were some Caribbean nations given such dramatically different constitutional frameworks when they gained independence from the UK? Dr Leonardo Raznovich examines the controversial savings clause
