Guardianship of Unaccompanied Asylum Seekers

Our key call for change:

A Guardianship Service on a statutory basis which would provide a guardian for every Unaccompanied Child in Wales seeking asylum.

Background information and introduction to our work

With our partners at the Bevan Foundation, The Children’s Society and British Red Cross we have prepared a research briefing, where we make the case for a national Guardianship Service for all Unaccompanied Children in Wales.

Unaccompanied Children are some of the most vulnerable members of our society, who are required to engage with the complex process of seeking asylum, often while experiencing trauma and upheaval. Any child, including one seeking asylum, should be able to enjoy all of their rights set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and should be granted the same protection as any other child permanently or temporarily deprived of their family environment.

The call for a Guardianship Service for all Unaccompanied Children has been made over many years and is supported by respected bodies within Wales and internationally. The establishment of a Guardianship Service has been a clear expectation of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child since early devolution. In its 2023 Concluding Observations, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child again recommended that a Guardianship Service should be introduced for all Unaccompanied Children.

Calls for a Guardianship Service in Wales have been made since 2005, with the most recent call made in 2023 in a report commissioned by Welsh Government on immigration advice services in Wales.

Our briefing identifies gaps in support for Unaccompanied Children, particularly in respect of their ability to access essential services, to access justice and engage with the process of seeking asylum.

We discuss the need for such a service and present evidence of its benefits and identify the key characteristics of an effective service, including the key benefits that Guardians would offer.

We are pleased to report, that after engagement and sharing our briefing with the Welsh Government they have committed to looking at the current support available for unaccompanied children in Wales. And during this Senedd term, will undertake exploration around how a guardianship service could work. We will meet regularly with Welsh Government to hold them to account to deliver on this commitment.