The unaccompanied minors are considered the most vulnerable group in the UK, with many at risk of disappearing or being trafficked within the first 72 hours. However, between 2021 and 2023 the UK Home Office has housed more than 5,400 asylum-seeking children in seven hotels. 32% of them were under 16 years old, and were staying in cities such as Oxford, London and Warwick as part of a ‘temporary emergency strategy’ taken by the Government.
Although the goal of the stay was initially ten days, a study by University College London and the NGO ECPAT revealed on Tuesday that More than 447 of these minors disappeared between July 2021 and June 2023. In addition, several government statistics show that 1,300 of the minors were wrongly assessed as adults, sometimes for their height or for their tattoosand housed in adult centers in 2022
Migrant children staying in hotels without direct state supervision increased the risks of trafficking and various forms of exploitation for sexual or criminal purposes. Living in hotels, minors are not under guardianship As stipulated in the Juvenile Law of 1989 (Applicable to all minors regardless of their immigration status). The law requires local authorities to assess the social, educational and health needs of each minor, under the supervision of an official.
Children referred to as ‘looked after’ or ‘foster children’ are those who are in the care of a local authority for more than 24 hours. ECPAT UK’s research highlights that Local first responders referred the majority of potential child victims during the period from 2015 to 2023This represents 47% of cases. Even in reception centres, unaccompanied minors can be and remain recruits for traffickers to exploit them.
[Lost in translation: si tienes envidia del Reino Unido, piensa que aquí se habla japonés]
The Illegal Migration Act, which came into force in July 2023, gave the Home Office the authority to provide and arrange for migrant children to be housed, when necessary, although the government agency has said that does not assume the responsibility of “corporate parent” for unaccompanied minorsexplains the Refugee Law Initiative, from the School of Advanced Study at the University of London. In addition, the Ministry of the Interior financed local authoritieswhile the child was not of legal age and did not disappear for more than 28 days, highlights Policy Studies at the University of Bristol. The last hotel closed in January after the High Court declared the strategy unlawful in a case brought by ECPAT UK, despite there being 4,656 applications from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in 2023.
The investigation highlights that the judge also found that the Home Secretary “had acted unlawfully by routinely and systematically housing newly arrived unaccompanied minors in hotels, denying them the protection of a local authority corporate parent.” According to the NGO, Children described hotels for minors as a prison. During his intervention, 440 children had still not been found in November 2023 and 188 were still missing when last reported in March.
The hotels of the Ministry of the Interior and the ‘Plan Rwanda’, increased the risk of trafficking of minors – especially boys – Albanians who are more likely to be exploited by the system of modern slaveryas Albania is considered a “safe country” and not in a state of war. There are 154 missing children, of which 135 are Albanian. Modern slavery refers to human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour.
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