The State must act to protect children from abroad who have become separated from their parents, writes Héilean Rosenstock-Armie
Children's rights issues have been centre stage recently. Developments regarding statutory rape led to a public outcry. Public tribunals are examining how children in institutional care were treated in the past, and the failure to adequately inspect residential institutions has now been acknowledged. By comparison, there has been little reaction to the admission earlier this month by the Office of the Minister for Children that over 300 separated children seeking asylum have gone missing in Ireland since 2001, and that a number of the centres designated to cater for those children have been operating illegally.
Separated children - children outside their country of origin separated from parents or other caregivers - are invisible in Irish society. This invisibility is two-fold, first as children who often have no voice and, secondly, as asylum seekers marginalised in society. If these children are largely invisible in the first instance, who will notice if they go missing? Who will advocate on their behalf and play surrogate parent to remind the State that its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child apply to all children within its territory, be they citizens or not.
Our often romantic notion of childhood contrasts sharply with the grim reality for many children worldwide. Amnesty International has documented human rights violations of children, including execution by death squads, torture, unfair detention, forced genital mutilation, slavery, trafficking in human organs and abuse of street children. Add to this forced marriage, forced conscription and human trafficking and we see that children are often persecuted just because they are children.
Child-specific violations of human rights have yet to find explicit expression in legislation. Wishing perhaps to shield our notion of childhood, we prefer to render such children invisible than contemplate their experiences. I have heard the excuse that they are mature individuals and that going missing translates as choosing to go underground. While some may have a mature demeanour as a result of their past experiences, it is these same experiences which have almost smothered the innocent child within. However, these children should be seen as children first and their immigration status must be secondary. The best interests of the child are paramount in any decision.
Separated children challenge our prejudices. Can we call them economic migrants, asylum shoppers, welfare fraudsters? Can the often blurred distinction between a coerced victim of trafficking and willing participant be applied to a child?
The number of separated children in Ireland has increased over the past several years, but the numbers are manageable - provided we are committed to the task. At any one time, there are approximately 200 separated children in State care.
The creation of two new posts of Child Protection Special Rapporteurs in the wake of the recent statutory rape scandal is to be welcomed. It is hoped that the new appointees will look at the legislation in relation to separated children, section 8 of the Refugee Act and sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Child Care Act. Geoffrey Shannon, one of the appointed rapporteurs, has written that none of the aforementioned provisions explains in clear terms the role of the HSE in relation to these children. Such a poor statutory framework could lead to legal challenges, and will certainly fail vulnerable children, despite the commitment of the individual social workers who work within such ambiguity.
Child protection is not just about a decision as to whether or not to lodge an asylum claim for a child. The State has no system in place to regularise the status of children who are too vulnerable or too young to be entered into the asylum process. As there is no form of complementary protection for children who fail to meet the restrictive interpretation of the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees, such children are left in a legal limbo.
Questions remain as to how to treat children whose application for asylum is rejected, but who cannot be returned because the country they fled is in turmoil. The European Council on Refugees and Exiles calls for the granting of legal status to those who cannot be returned. We must look for long-term durable solutions for these children.
At present the ratio of social workers to separated children is unacceptably low. The hostels which accommodate the children do not fall under the Social Services Inspectorate and a grossly minimal level of staffing is a likely contributor to children going missing. Goal two of the National Children's Strategy speaks of giving children a voice in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In a recent workshop, one group wrote "what about article 12, why do they not listen to our voices, to our stories, and believe us and take us seriously?"
The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights gives express rights to children, including the right to protection and care. Ireland continues to have a two-tier system for children in care, with separated children receiving an inferior level of care as noted recently by the Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan, who stated that it left Ireland in breach of its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Children's Rights Alliance report, From Rhetoric to Rights, outlines a series of concerns in relation to the care and protection of separated children and calls for urgent reform.
Child victims of trafficking are also being failed. The HSE has told the Government that some of the children in care are victims of trafficking, while Ruhama, an organisation which works with women involved in prostitution and trafficked women, has come across eight minors. In addition, the International Organisation of Migration has repatriated minors to their countries of origin, and yet we refuse to acknowledge the problem.
These children should not remain invisible. Who would deny children the chance to reach their full potential?
The Irish Refugee Council recommends reforming the present model of care which depends on residential hostels. Fostering should be an option, with child-protection measures in place for vetting of carers. In addition, small residential, group homes could afford the children a family-like environment. The remit of the Social Services Inspectorate should be expanded to include inspection of such homes. An adequate number of trained and vetted care workers should be provided to ensure proper protection, including for highly vulnerable victims of trafficking.
All children in Ireland should be cherished equally.
Héilean Rosenstock-Armie is the Separated Children's Officer with the Irish Refugee Council