In this country, there can be few worse affronts to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, than the practice of imprisoning innocent children. Yet that is what is happening, here and now, just a few miles from where I sit, in Yarlswood Detention Centre.
The New Statesman has some powerful articles and a petition, which I hope you will join me in signing, calling on the Home Secretary to honour our commitments, to quote: "The government’s stated policy has been to detain children “only when absolutely necessary and for the shortest possible time”. In reality, however, children are often held for long periods in centres with inadequate healthcare and education. Many have been deeply traumatised by their experiences. This situation is unacceptable in a country which claims to adhere to high standards of human rights.
Our clear message is that the UK’s policy of incarcerating innocent minors must stop. Immigration detention centres are no place for children."
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