UK’s Children Commissioners Condemned UK Border Agency’s Proposed Use of Dental X-Rays
Plans to use dental X-rays to ascertain the actual age of young-looking asylum seekers has been damned by the UK’s children’s commissioners.
The pilot scheme was due to begin in Croydon, south London, and would have involved young-looking asylum seekers being tested with dental X-rays to assess their real age.
The UK Border Agency was quick to stress that this would be a voluntary procedure and was an idea to help improve the assessment of asylum seekers to ensure they are given the appropriate services in relation to their age.
However, the board of children’s commissioners released a statement, saying: “We believe that this practice places the child at risk because they may be unable to give informed consent and will be at increased, unnecessary exposure to medical radiation.
We believe that this is a clear breach of the rights of vulnerable children and young people and may, in fact, be illegal. We will be challenging the Border Agency and the government to end this pilot immediately.”
Join this Discussion
