Protecting asylum seeking children on the move

Abstract

This paper considers the ways that children seeking asylum can be assisted to make sense of movement in their lives as forced migrants, and to find a sense of “home” in a foreign country after arrival, even if their stay in that country is temporary. It explores the proposition that movement happens in three dimensions – as geographical displacement, as the passage of time, and as psychological and maturational change. While acknowledging the utility of using the 1951 Refugee Convention as a defence against children’s persecution, the paper suggests that the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child offers a wider framework for considering asylum seeking children’s life-long well-being. Within the UNCRC’s design, an example of a Guardianship service in Scotland is used to track movement across three domains of practice – when processing an asylum claim, providing welfare, and regenerating social networks. The paper considers that offering protection is not just a shield against persecution, but also an embrace that makes children feel “at home”.