20 September 2021
Immigration solicitors at the Children’s Law Centre have raised serious concerns around the Nationality and Borders Bill. The solicitors have said the Bill will harm children, increase the risk of child trafficking and encroach on devolved matters in relation to trafficking and child protection.
Read our briefing note
The concerns have been raised ahead of the Westminster committee stage of the Bill, starting on Tuesday 21 September. The committee is expected to report to the House by Thursday 4 November 2021.
Barbara Muldoon, Immigration Solicitor at the Children’s Law Centre said: “The Children’s Law Centre remains deeply concerned about the wide-ranging impact the Nationality and Borders Bill will have on vulnerable children in this jurisdiction. We have made some good progress in relation to tackling trafficking over the last decade, but this will undo that progress.
“The Bill, as it stands, represents a major departure from long-standing international obligations and domestic law. Yet the consultation process fell massively short of basic standards. It’s notable that the vast majority of immigration practitioners have been critical to date.
“When it comes to vulnerable children and child victims of trafficking, the matter should be dealt with as a child safe-guarding issue. Yet the Nationality and Borders Bill seeks to weaken child safeguarding duties. Children will be put at increased risk of trafficking and re-trafficking, at risk of being criminalised and at risk of being detained in adult detention centres. This is far from acceptable.
“With child protection and the prevention of trafficking both being devolved matters, the Bill also massively over-reaches. We have heard concerns from practitioners in other jurisdictions concerning this already. It’s likely we are going to see decades of litigation in relation to this matter.
“We need to see a concerted effort to amend the Bill during the committee stage. As a minimum, it must remain compatible with the 1951 Refugee Convention and other domestic and international commitments. We also need to ensure mitigations are put in place by the NI Executive to protect our devolved powers and ultimately to protect children from the worst reaches of the changes.”
Briefing Note – The Nationality and Borders Bill: Implications for Children, Anti-Trafficking Measures and Devolution
