The UK Border Agency (UKBA) recently announced plans to establish a "reintegration centre" in Kabul, which would be used to remove asylum-seeking children who have arrived in the UK with no family back to Afghanistan.
Many non-governmental organisations, including the Children's Legal Centre, are concerned that, in forcibly removing separated children to Afghanistan, the government is placing more emphasis on immigration controls, and on deterring future asylum applications, than on the best interests of children.
In 2009, 2,985 separated migrant children claimed asylum in the UK, and they are thought to represent around 10 per cent of all children in care. Many migrant children come to the UK because of fear of persecution or the lack of protection due to human rights violations or armed conflict in their own country. They may be the victims of trafficking for sexual, labour or other exploitation, or they may have travelled to Europe to escape serious deprivation.
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