State ‘must better protect child asylum seekers’

THE Government should do more to protect unaccompanied child asylum seekers, the outgoing representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Dublin has said.

Pia Prutz Phiri, who leaves the job after more than five years, said she was concerned at cases where unaccompanied minors were subsequently reunited with people claiming to be family. Many refugee organisations and researchers believe many of these children are victims of trafficking or arranged marriages.

“We have highlighted to the Government that we would like to see much more follow-up in those cases where children arrive unaccompanied and are subsequently reunited with ‘family’,” said Ms Phiri.