Why this campaign "You don’t lock up a child. Period."?

The Belgian Federal Government has plans to build a new closed centre in order to detain families with children. These plans were mentioned in the Government Agreement of 9 October 2014. Since the beginning of this parliamentary term, the Platform Minors in exile and UNICEF Belgium have asked the government to stop this project.

After the State secretary for Asylum and Migration, Theo Francken, reaffirmed his intentions to complete this project in 2017 in his General Policy Note of November 2016, the Platform Minors in exile and UNICEF Belgium decided to set up a campaign in order to create widespread public awareness of this issue. 

More than 325 organisations have already signed our position against child detention. With our campaign "You don't lock up a child. Period.", we wish to inform the public and mobilise them against the Government's plans.

We do not want children to be detained in our country, solely on the basis of their or their parent’s or guardian’s migration status. We want all children to be treated as children, to be free, to be looked after and protected, and to enjoy the same rights.

 

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