The report, Seeking Asylum Alone, was commissioned by US communitydevelopment organisation the John D and Catherine T MacarthurFoundation. It found that too many of these children are met with aculture of disbelief and suspicion by officials.
In addition, the report criticises the asylum process for not having aclear legal framework for dealing with them as "children first andasylum seekers second". It also says the immigration system suffers froma "tension between child protection mandates and preoccupations aboutexcessive immigration".
While the report did praise efforts such as including child asylumseekers in the Children Act 2004, it said other proposals, such as plansto return unaccompanied children whose applications have been refused totheir countries of origin, would make the situation worse.
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