There are disturbing reports of children in the UK being taken abroad—often under false pretenses—only to be subjected to severe harm, including honor-based violence, female genital mutilation (FGM), radicalization, forced conversion, and physical abuse. Many of these children are targeted because they are seen as too Western or are ex-Muslims seeking to leave or distance themselves from strict religious practices.

These practices are often facilitated by parents or family members who act as if they are border authorities, using loopholes like withholding passports, forging school enrolment for visas, or false reasons to travel. Once abroad, children face manipulation, indoctrination, physical violence, and sometimes even torture, with little or no safeguard to protect them.

Key Demands:

To ensure the safety and rights of children, we urge the UK government to implement the following measures:

• Immediately ban the travel of children for cultural re-education (Dhaqan Celis) or cultural rehabilitation.
• Require all travellers with children during school holidays to present a return ticket and notify authorities if children are not on the return flight, with legal consequences for violations.
• Prevent children with open social services cases or ongoing safeguarding concerns from leaving the UK.
• Introduce private border interviews with children before travel, ensuring they are not coerced or intimidated, especially when familial or parental influence is suspected.
• Strengthen border checks and visa screening to detect forged school enrolment documents for visas, withheld passports, forged visas, broken phones (which are often broken once the individual is taken abroad), and prevent unlawful travel of at-risk children.
• Ensure support and protection for children, including ex-Muslims, subjected to abuse, torture, or forced religious practices abroad.
• Work with international partners to monitor and prevent illegal travel and exploitation of children for harmful cultural or religious practices.
• Increase awareness and education about the risks of honour-based violence, FGM, radicalisation, religious coercion, and the methods used to facilitate these abuses.
• Revise and tighten safeguarding procedures, including medical and social service protocols, to prevent at-risk individuals from being boarded on flights abroad.

Why This Matters:

Every child has the right to safety, education, and freedom from violence, coercion, and exploitation. Current loopholes—such as families withholding passports, forging school enrolment for visas, breaking phones, and manipulating individuals—leave vulnerable children at grave risk of harm and hinder their ability to fully participate in society.

These loopholes are often exploited to facilitate harmful practices such as forced marriage, honour-based violence, and cultural re-education (Dhaqan Celis). While forced marriage is already a criminal offence, these methods make it easier for perpetrators to carry out and conceal such abuses.

The practice of taking individuals abroad to enforce strict religious or cultural norms—often under false pretenses—is a significant obstacle to integration and poses a serious threat to their safety. This phenomenon, known as Dhaqan Celis (cultural re-education), is used to radicalise, indoctrinate, or punish those deemed too westernised or disobedient. While this mainly affects children, it can also happen to young adults.

Please sign this petition to call on the UK government to take decisive action to prevent these harmful practices and safeguard the rights and safety of all vulnerable individuals.