UN calls on UK to immediately halt discrimination of children in counter terrorism measures
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has raised concerns about discriminatory, racial and stigmatising impacts of the UK government’s Prevent strategy.
Recognising the disproportionate impact of the policy on how Muslim children and children of Asian ethnicity are able to access their civil and political rights, the Committee called for an immediate end to the targeting of specific groups of children by counter-terrorism measures.
A review of children’s rights in the UK
The UK ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991, which means that it has agreed to regularly review its progress on fulfilling its obligations under the Convention. The most recent review happened in May 2023, and CRIN submitted evidence from our work on the UK’s counter terrorism Prevent strategy, to help inform the UN’s recommendations.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s Concluding Observations on the state of children's rights in the UK, published on 2 June, were highly critical of the UK’s counter- terrorism Prevent strategy.
Prevent disproportionately affects Muslim children and children of Asian ethnicity
The UN report highlighted Prevent’s discriminatory impact on Muslim children and children of Asian ethnicity, particularly regarding freedom of expression, religion, and assembly. In its 2016 report on the UK, the Committee recommended strengthening oversight mechanisms to ensure that there is no discriminatory or stigmatising impact from the Prevent strategy. They also recommended ensuring that data is collected and published regularly, and is disaggregated by age, ethnicity and religious affiliation to minimise stigmatising impacts.
In its submission to the Committee, CRIN highlighted gaps in data collection for Prevent referrals, particularly in relation to ethnicity and religion. This obscures the extent to which Prevent disproportionately affects Muslim children and children of Asian ethnicity. Before the Home Office stopped providing this kind of data, 39% of children referred were Muslim, and 38% were ethnically Asian, despite only making up 5% and 6% of the population respectively.
A threat to children’s freedom of expression
CRIN’s submission to the UN also highlighted the chilling effect it has on children’s freedom of expression, religion, and assembly. Given its focus on “non-violent extremism”, the Prevent strategy often catches lawful expressions within its scope. This can lead to children feeling unable to express their religious or political views, through fear of being targeted. The Committee reinforced the responsibility of the UK government to ensure that children can exercise these rights, in any context, without threats or intimidation.
Prevent was also recently subject to an Independent Review, which was boycotted by several civil society organisations over a lack of impartiality and previous Islamophobic comments made by the commissioner, William Shawcross. The Review itself has been highly criticised for its focus on so-called “Islamist extremism”, and lack of provisions for oversight mechanisms.
A call for the repatriation of British children
In its Concluding Observations, the Committee also instructed the UK to undertake ‘effective and urgent measures to repatriate children who are nationals of the State party from camps in the Syrian Arab Republic’. This comes as CRIN launches a joint campaign, in collaboration with Human Rights Watch, Reprieve and War Child, urging the UK government to bring British families, who are being unlawfully detained in camps in North East Syria, back home.
We are now calling on the UK government to effectively implement these recommendations, to ensure that it is meeting its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.