Code of practice
Refugee Council response to the UK Border Agency Code of Practice for Keeping Children Safe from Harm [April 2008]
The UK Borders Act of 2007 gave a duty to the Border and Immigration Agency to ensure that it takes appropriate steps to ensure that children are kept safe from harm whilst in the UK. It published a draft Code of Practice to give details of how BIA intends to ensure that staff are aware of and abide by this requirement. The consultation document also asks for views on whether or not the government should remove the reservation on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The Refugee Council’s response to this draft Code of Practice asks the UKBA to consider the harmful effect of its own policies on children, whilst welcoming efforts to ensure that UKBA staff think about how they can help to keep children safe. We urge the government to remove the reservation on the UNCRC. Please note that the Border and Immigration Agency became the UK Border Agency during the consultation period so both terms are used. Published in April 2008 |
