The Court of Appeal recently declared that the UK Home Office's policy of determining the age of young asylum seekers is unlawful as it fails to ensure that children are not mistakenly treated as adults.
The case has left people questioning the practices of the Home Office and local authorities in the UK when young, mostly unaccompanied, children and young people seeking asylum arrive in the UK without any documentation proving their age.
Some children and young people who arrive in the UK have never had any form of ID, birth certificate or similar documents in their country of birth. While others were unable to bring such documents as a result of having to flee their home suddenly fearing for their safety. Unlike in the UK where we celebrate the birthdays of our friends and family with parties and presents this does not happen in all countries with very little significance being paid to birthdays, or sometimes even age. One young person confused by the process of having his age challenged stated “I am here fleeing for my life and they are worried about a date which meant nothing in Afghanistan.”
