Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium

The Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium is a coalition of over a hundred organizations dedicated to protecting the rights and welfare of children who are refugees or migrants. They are currently newsworthy due to their strong opposition to the British government's plan to implement AI-powered facial age-estimation technology for young asylum seekers. Charities within the consortium warn that this technology is flawed and potentially racialized, risking the misclassification of children as adults. This could lead to them being wrongly placed in adult prisons or detention centers, thereby endangering vulnerable children, particularly those from conflict zones. The consortium's stance highlights significant concerns about the ethical implications and potential human rights violations associated with using AI in age assessment for asylum claims, emphasizing the critical need for accurate and humane treatment of child refugees.