The Government of the Canary Islands considers establishing agreements with countries such as Morocco or Senegal to provide them with care for unaccompanied migrant minors. coming from these countries that have arrived to the islands.
Your president, Fernando Clavijohas confirmed in recent days that it is studying this option as an alternative due to the saturation of its resources —The Canary Islands protect nearly 6,000 young people— and the current political blockade on the reform of the law so that the autonomous communities share this reception.
For this, has been supported by article 35.2 of the immigration lawwhich allows the autonomous communities to “establish agreements with the countries of origin aimed at ensuring that the care and social integration of minors is carried out in their environment of origin.”
“Such agreements must duly ensure the protection of the interests of minors and will contemplate mechanisms for adequate monitoring by the autonomous communities of their situation,” adds that article.
According to various experts on children’s rights and migration consulted by EFE, although this instrument is contemplated in the law, Its correct application requires an exhaustive case-by-case study based on the best interests of the minor. —for which many technical means and long periods of time are necessary— who usually concludes that the best thing for him is to stay in Spain.
The best, with your family
The director of Social and Political Advocacy of Save The Children, Catalina Perazzoexplains that the Convention on the Rights of the Child establishes that, a priori, The best thing for a child is to be with his family and that is why this is the first option that must be considered. when caring for a child or adolescent who arrives alone in Spain.
But for a repatriation to take place It must be proven that it is what is best for the young mansomething that is not simple.
As the lawyer explains Paloma García de Viedma, from the Raíces FoundationIn these cases, the Government Delegation has to obtain a report from the authorities of the country of origin on the socioeconomic situation of the family to verify that the young person will be well cared for in the event of their return.
And it is a procedure in which the young person has the right to be heardto have a lawyer and to appeal to a judge if you do not agree with the decision; which, in practice, makes it a “difficult” and slow process.
Referral to the reception system of the country of origin
Another option is to repatriate the minor and place him at the disposal of the protection system of the country in question, but, again, it must be justified that this decision serves his best interest.
One has to make an assessment of whether the care system in the country of origin has the necessary guaranteessuch as appropriate protection centers or specialized professionals who take proper care of the young person.
“The most important thing is that it is case by case, assessing the specific circumstances of each boy and girl, including listening to them, because you have to know if they want to return or not,” says Perazzo.
In the opinion of the legal coordinator of CEAR, Elena Muñozknowing the reality of the Moroccan and Senegal systems, it is “difficult” for an assessment based on the best interests of the minor conclude that they will be better off in a juvenile center there than in Spain.
For this type of derivations, bilateral agreements with certain countries would be useful, as Clavijo has mentioned, but always within the framework of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and never in a generalized way.
In this regard, the Voices consulted remember the case of the returns of minors in Ceuta in 2021which were carried out under the pretext of an agreement signed with Morocco but, as confirmed by the Supreme Court in January of this year, were illegal.
In any case, the experts emphasize, this route would not be a quick solution or massively applicable, as the Canary Islands claim to alleviate the current saturation of its resources.
The latest report of the State Attorney General’s Office, relating to 2023, refers to a single case of repatriation of minorsboth to return to the family and to the protection system of the country of origin. Regarding 2022, it includes two cases and in relation to 2021, none.
Cross-border placement in another EU State
In recent days, other voices such as the PP have put on the table the possibility of involving other European Union countries in the reception of these minors.
The so-called cross-border foster care is included in the 2021 law on comprehensive protection of children and adolescents against violence and in the European regulation 2019/1111 but, again, it must be applied under an individualized analysis that results in that option is the best for the minor.
For example, because you have family or other people of reference in that other State. A process that, according to the sources consulted, is not executed in practically any case and could not be carried out en masse.
Transfer to a third country
Another tool contemplated by international law is resettlement in a third country, but this is a humanitarian care measure designed for refugees who are in another country in conflict or where their rights are not guaranteed in order for them to be protected in a safe place.
In the last days The model of the Italian Government of Georgia Meloni has been the subject of controversywhich has transferred 16 migrants to centers built in Albania to process their asylum applications there, a policy viewed favorably by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
According to Elena Muñoz, “there are many doubts” about the legality of this model, which has been rejected by the central government and the Canarian president, but not by the vice president of the autonomous Executive on the islands, Manuel Dominguezof the PP.
The experts consulted agree that that model could not be applied in any case. According to García de Viedma, it would be “an outrage” that goes “against everything” to the legal framework that protects the rights of children. In fact, even in the Italian case, two migrants have been returned to Italy when it was proven that they were minors.
Towards a supportive welcome between communities
For the voices consulted, The best way forward is the formula that the central and Canarian governments have been pursuing for months: establishing a stable reception mechanism for minors who arrive in a territory such as the archipelago among all the autonomous communities.
In the opinion of Catalina Perazzo, the number of young people who would be transferred “is not unaffordable” for the country as a whole. “The shame is that it seems that it has become a political issue,” he lamented.
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