Santa Cruz de Tenerife 20 Mar. (Europa Press) –
Juan Carlos Lorenzo, the coordinator of Cear Canarias, expressed his disappointment on Thursday regarding the report issued this week by Amnesty International, which highlights “violence and excessive punishments” towards unaccompanied minors in the reception centres of the Canary Islands. He noted that the findings illustrate the “faults” of a “saturated” system that is “unsympathetic” towards children, as well as the organisations and institutions that support them, stating that “as it stands, it is ineffective.”
When questioned on this matter on Thursday during a media briefing following a meeting with the Canarian President, Fernando Clavijo, he clarified that the current system causes “a distortion” in prioritising what is truly important, namely, providing decent living conditions, appropriate spaces, educational opportunities, and adequate psychosocial support, among other necessities.
He thus urged the need to cultivate a system that not only guarantees “the essentials” but also focuses on educating, integrating, and including migrant children. He emphasised that the major issues within the current system reveal how its overcapacity “weakens guarantees, infringes upon rights and compromises care.”
“We find ourselves in a position where we must have enhanced oversight and more thorough monitoring of our actions; however, the current system hinders this, and such a situation cannot serve as an excuse for inaction,” remarked the coordinator of Cear Canarias.
He acknowledged the efforts of the Canary Islands government to advocate for a binding model pertaining to the territorial distribution of migrant minors, which should “assist in rationalising the system and address all those critical aspects.”
