SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 19 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Diputación del Común declared on Thursday the initiation of an automatic investigation to oversee the accommodation of unaccompanied migrant minors following an appeal to the TSJC by the High Prosecutor’s Office regarding the new protocol established by the Government of the Canary Islands.
In a statement, Deputy Dolores Padrón noted that the number of unaccompanied minors in the Canary Islands “exceeds” existing capacity, “not only in terms of their immediate care but also in relation to their overall wellbeing, considering that the emergency has persisted for an extended period, thus necessitating the approval of residential facilities and exceptional resources to meet basic needs.”
In light of this, it is acknowledged that “it is essential to implement measures to ensure appropriate care,” and therefore it is believed that “it is imperative to underline the legal responsibilities set out in the relevant regulations concerning the protection of minors, to provide the safeguarding mandated by law to those minors lacking protection, while respecting any protocols that may be established regarding honest cooperation and collaboration between the relevant administrations, to ensure efficient management and equality in the exercise of rights.”
The Diputación del Común also reminds the General Directorate for the Protection of Children and Families that on July 30, 2024, the Ombudsman, following his visit to the emergency facilities in Hoya Fría and La Orotava on Tenerife, proposed measures that include, among other things, “the necessary coordination between administrations and coherence in their interventions, both concerning minors in need of international protection and those who are under the public protection authority without documentation and nearing adulthood.”
These recommendations were forwarded to the Ministry of the Interior, the State Secretariat for Migration, the State Attorney General’s Office, and the autonomous community’s own Ministry.
Padrón asserts that it is vital to emphasise the responsibility “of all actions in which the best interests of the minor must take precedence at all times.”
PRIORITISE THE FOCUS ON CHILDHOOD
In this regard, he emphasises that the ombudsman’s offices must “ensure that the actions of the various public administrations responsible for the care of minors reflect their best interests, prioritising in all cases the approach of childhood over the status of immigrant, in compliance with the relevant regulations on the protection of minors.”
Padrón further indicates in his official document that he is “worried” about protecting the rights of unaccompanied foreign minors and how coordination will occur among the General State Administration, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the Autonomous Community to fulfill their respective obligations, ensuring attention and the adoption of measures that guarantee protection and assistance in situations of vulnerability focused on children.
“We request information in this regard, specifically on how coordination will be implemented across each of the islands that comprise our archipelago, and the strategies devised to address the unique realities of each island while ensuring care and protection centred on children,” he concludes.
