Hope for the unaccompanied minors of Calais

In less than a month, more than 14,000 people, organizations, artists and politicians, from both sides of the Channel took action to enable these minors to join their family in the UK in a safe and legal manner. Several personalities such as actor David Morrisey, French director and actress Yolande Moreau and French MP Cécile Duflot also signed the petition.

This initiative led by France terre d’asile and supported by French and British citizens encourages both governments to create legal migration channels so that these minors can join their family safely.

The statement made by François Hollande, on 3 March 2016, at the UK-France summit in Amiens declaring that when “those unaccompanied minors [in Calais] have family links in the UK, [they] should join the UK, in a quick and effective manner” and the amendment to the new Immigration Act (published on 12 May), which foresees the relocation to the UK of unaccompanied minors present in Europe now enjoy public support.

We therefore ask French and British governments to:

-    Simplify and harmonize procedures so that young people can easily join their family in the UK;

-    Ensure long-terms efforts to implement this safe and legal channel.

Since the beginning of family reunion activities more than 40 young people have been reunited with their family thanks to the help of lawyers and NGOs. It is only a beginning and many others are still waiting, living in squalid conditions. We cannot let them live in violence and threatened by criminal networks.

France terre d’asile is going to set up a Monitoring Committee on the situation of unaccompanied minors in Calais, which observations and achievements on family reunion will be shared on a dedicated website and with all the signatories of the petition.

Pierre Henry, General Director of France terre d’asile

First signatories:

France terred’asile, Asylum Aid, British Refugee Council, French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT, Union), European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), Independent and Democratic Federation of High school students (FIDL), National Federation of Reception and Social Reintegration Organisations (FNARS), Forum Réfugiés-Cosi, SOS Racisme, National inter-federal union of private, health and social projects and organisations (Uniopss), Unicef France.

Jacqueline BENASSAYAG (Secretary of France terred’asile), Erwan BINET (MP), Jacqueline COSTA-LASCOUX (Director of research at CNRS), Paulette DECRAENE ( Board member of France terred’asile), Patrick DOUTRELIGNE (President of Uniopss), Cécile DUFLOT (MP), Olivier FAVIER (Journalist), Daniel GOLDBERG (MP), Jean-Luc GONNEAU (Treasurer of France terred’asile), Romain GOUPIL (Fillmmaker), Florent GUÉGUEN (General Director of FNARS), Sylvie GUILLAUME (MEP, Vice-president of the European Parliament), Zoïa GUSCHLBAUER (President of FIDL), Pierre HENRY (General Director of France terre d’asile), Alain LE CLEAC’H (President of France terred’asile), Sandrine MAZETIER (MP, Vice-president of the French Parliament), Jean François PLOQUIN (General Director of Forum Réfugiés-Cosi), Nicole QUESTIAUX (Former Minister, honorary member of the Council of State), Jacques RIBS (Honorary President of France terred'asile), Dominique SOPO (President of SOS Racisme), Benjamin STORA (Historian, President of the Steering Board of the French Museum of the History of Migration), Frédéric TIBERGHIEN (Board member of France terred’asile), Patrick WEIL (Director of research at CNRS), Catherine WITHOL DE WENDEN (Director of research at CNRS et Doctor in Political Sciences at Sciences Po Paris).