Ceuta migrant children: Amnesty pushes Spain-wide move
Unaccompanied migrant children who arrived in Ceuta during the mass entry on 30 July remain there as Amnesty International calls for them to be moved across Spain. The rights group is pressing Spain’s autonomous communities ahead of Thursday’s Conference on Children and Adolescents, on 27 August. It says the children must not be caught up in political disputes.
Amnesty says providing a dignified welcome is a shared responsibility for the autonomous communities, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the central government. It wants every autonomous community to make room for children and teenagers who reached Ceuta alone.
The organisation says the compulsory relocation system set out in the March Royal Decree-Law must be followed without exceptions, given Ceuta’s migration contingency. Every child, whatever their origin or nationality, has the right to protection without discrimination from the state where they are staying.
Amnesty is also demanding effective legal protection, age-assessment procedures that respect human rights and a genuine hearing for each child. Decisions should put the child’s best interests first, it says, while documents, education and routes into integration must be secured.
It also calls for action against racism and discrimination as the mandatory distribution mechanism is put into effect.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com