UASC hotels: an ECHR children’s rights analysis of a not so ‘temporary’ emergency measure

Whilst all asylum seekers find themselves in a difficult position while trying to be recognised as refugees, some are in more perilous situations than others. Those asylum seekers that are unaccompanied (UAS) children are manifestly in greater need of care and protection than most adult asylum seekers, given their minority (under 18) and being without the protection of a primary carer. Any child who is in the care of the state should always be placed in age-appropriate and safe accommodation and in the care of staff who are properly trained; UAS children are no different. Typically, these functions are performed by local authorities through their social work departments. However, the UK’s previous Conservative government’s practice of using hotels to accommodate UAS children in England from 2021–2024 fell short of its human rights obligations towards UAS children. This paper argues that through this and related policies, the government was actively involved in compounding the victimisation of already susceptible children who had fled their country of origin thinking (mistakenly) that their human rights would be respected here.