SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE 9 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Superior Prosecutor’s Office for the Canary Islands has disclosed that a total of 24 unaccompanied migrant minors who arrived in the islands during September were not promptly received at a centre and spent between one and three days in police stations.
The allegations presented before the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) and reported by Europa Press, acknowledge the “significant migratory pressure” that the archipelago has faced since 2019, which escalated in 2023, particularly on the island of El Hierro.
The Prosecutor’s Office asserts that the responsibility for social care of migrant minors lies with the autonomous communities, and in the specific case of the Canary Islands, this is also outlined in Article 147.2 of the Statute of Autonomy and the local law concerning child protection, which necessitates that care is provided “immediately” considering that this group possesses a “special level of vulnerability due to being minors, foreigners, and unaccompanied.”
Therefore, it indicates that the decision taken by the Government Council of the Canary Islands on September 2, which instructed NGOs not to accept minors without explicit authorisation from the autonomous community, represented an “unjustified delay.”
As particular instances, the Prosecutor’s Office specifies 18 minors aged between 12 and 17 who arrived in El Hierro on September 20 and were not collected by the Canarian Police until over a day later.
In Lanzarote, four instances of minors have been reported who were not collected despite notifications to the General Directorate for the Protection of Children and Families, mirroring two other cases in Fuerteventura.
With these instances, the Prosecutor’s Office emphasises that it “clearly demonstrates” that the actions taken by the regional government “are jeopardising the interests of this especially vulnerable group,” thereby advocating for its suspension.
