Our friends at SOAS Detainee Support are hosting the Release Carnival in London’s Torrington Square on Saturday 5th June from 12 noon, calling on the government to stop detaining families now.
http://releasecarnival.wordpress.com

When the new government said it would ‘end the detention of children for immigration purposes’ some people proclaimed victory.

But as the families locked up in Yarl’s Wood reminded everyone in a letter to Nick Clegg (published in last Sunday’s Observer), ‘we are still here in the detention centre’. Continue reading “Let’s end child detention at the Release Carnival,”

Sir Al Aynsley-Green, the paediatrician who, as the first Children’s Commissioner for England, did more than any single person to expose the arrest and detention of innocent children, the injustices and sheer horror of their lived experiences, said:
‘ I am looking for two things: A demonstration of intent by releasing those currently held, not least because absconding is not an issue. Within weeks rather than months produce robust proposals. Detention is inhumane and shocking and there is no place for it in a country that claims to be civilised.’

Sir AL QUOTE IN FULL:
Sir Al Aynsley-Green, the first Children’s Commissioner for England:

‘I welcome the focus on detention so soon in the new government. It must have a chance to produce an action plan. But the review should not be an excuse for prevarication. The evidence of harm to children is incontrovertible. And officials have had at least five years to think of alternatives during the pressure that I have applied as Children’s Commissioner. I am looking for two things: A demonstration of intent by releasing those currently held, not least because absconding is not an issue. Within weeks rather than months produce robust proposals. Detention is inhumane and shocking and there is no place for it in a country that claims to be civilised.’ Continue reading “ECDN campaigns for immediate release of children in detention”