Today is World Children’s Day and this afternoon the Fetlar Primary bairns came into school to work with us on the outright campaign.

The OutRight 2017 campaign is focussing on the rights of unaccompanied refugee children – in particular their right to protection and thier right to family reunification.

Did you know that right now, refugee children are in real danger? 50 million children have been uprooted from teir homes, most forced to flee from violent conflict. Many of them are making dangerous journeys, risking their lives in search of safety and close family.

Family comes in so many different shapes and forms. What it represents is what counts – love, care, protection, warmth – things that no child should be without. This is what children are missing out on when they’re torn apart from their loved ones by circumstances beyond their control, be it war, poverty or conflict.

All too often children have lost their parents, been forced to leave them behind, or found themselves separated from them due to the perils of war. They often find themselves alone and at risk of violence, abuse and exploitation. What they need is for the UK refugee family reunion law to allow them to reunite with close family in the UK, from wherever they are.

Under the current law, children have to make their own way to Europe to be able to reunite with older siblings, aunts and uncles, and grandparents waiting for them in the UK. Children fleeing war and persecution shouldn’t have to make these needless, dangerous and often deadly journeys.

The Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, has the power to change the UK Refugee Family Reunion law, and help to urgently reunite children with their families, where they belong. So we will be writing to Amber Rudd again this year to support Unicef UKs calls on the UK Government and help reunite refugee families in the UK where they belong, based on their right to protection and to family life:

• Article 10 (Family reunification): governments must respond quickly and sympathetically if a child or their parents apply to live together in the same country. If a child’s family members live in different countries the child has the right to visit and keep in contact with them.
• Article 22 (Refugee children): if a child is seeking refuge or has refugee status, governments must provide them with appropriate protection and assistance to help them enjoy all the rights in the Convention. Governments must help refugee children who are separated from their parents to be reunited with them.

The UK’s refugee laws divide families. Currently the UK Government doesn’t recognise a brother or a grandma as family – at least not if you are a refugee. We do not think this is right and think this should be changed. Under the current laws, children must reach Europe to be able to reunite with older siblings, aunts and uncles, and grandparents waiting for them in the UK. Children fleeing war and persecution shouldn’t have to make these needless, dangerous journeys across land and sea to be with their family in the UK!