The Minister of Youth and Children, Sira Rego, announced this Wednesday in Ceuta that the national government is working on a “strategic plan» to address migratory emergencies involving unaccompanied minors, such as the one currently crossing Ceuta and the Canary Islands.
Accompanied by the President of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, during the first visit to the autonomous city, Rego explained that the the plan will be based “on a diagnosis” that they “elaborate on the number of places available per territory for the reception of boys and girls”, which will give them “a figure or a number and above all a possible projection”.
“A strategic plan in which we are already working with the European Union and the European institutions to ask for the resources that correspond to us and, above all, to open the way that concerns children seeking asylum,” he added, in statements collected by Ep.
The government intends to explore the “possibility of launching European programmes for the reception and protection of asylum-seeking children”, in order to implement a “binding and supportive reception policy for boys and girls on EU territory”.
The minister, who announced that she would continue to visit “all the territories that are entry points for unaccompanied migrant boys and girls”, assured that her team was studying other avenues for the urgent transfer of minors while waiting for the final objective to be achieved: the modification of article 35 of the appeal Immigration Law.
He described as “good news” the approval given this week in the Council of Ministers, by which 35 million euros They will be assigned to the care of unaccompanied migrant boys, girls and adolescents in 2024. Of this position, 4.5 million will go to Ceuta, whose government was congratulated “for the good work”.
“However, we must recognize that with this mechanism it is obvious that we are not getting where we need to go, that it is not enough. That is why, a little over a month ago, we proposed the reform of article 35 of the Immigration Law,” he said.
For Sira Rego, the way to respond to the emergency “in a structural and planned way” implies “yes or yes through reform of article 35». For the minister, this should have been agreed “a month ago”, but she hopes that it will be approved “as soon as possible”. “At the same time, we must respond to emergency situations that arise, we are there. The visit also has to do with that, with the willingness to collaborate,” he said.
In addition to the above-mentioned strategic plan, he also proposed “the development of other aspects of Article 35”, so that the current Article proposes them “alternative routes to be able to deal with emergency situations” while they negotiate the possibility of reforming it.
From the Ministry of Children and Youth, they “await the configuration of the new college of European commissioners”that he hopes to “meet immediately.” Rego also indicated that he was working on a program of “comprehensive support and transition to adult life.” “This would be a first proposal of a strategic plan that we would take and work at the sectoral conference, where we would talk with the autonomous communities,” he said.
“We have our doors open, we agree that it is a question of country, that it is a question of State. We defend a welcoming society and a society of rights and therefore a lot of dialogue and a lot of understanding between the different institutional segments to reach solutions. It is possible, it is a question of will,” concluded the minister.
“Complete coincidence”
For his part, the president of Ceuta warned that Ceuta is in a situation “Critical”, “difficult”, “untenable” situationin terms of reception capacity, a context that does not go beyond the “irreparable human tragedy of these people who, trying to swim towards our country, die”, which “moves the society of Ceuta and the institutions” of the city, as reported by Servimedia.
After thanking the minister’s “interest” and “receptiveness” to the situation Ceuta is experiencing, he confirmed that there was “very high degree” of coincidence in the “diagnosis and strategy” to follow on the question of immigration, which is the business “of everyone, of the State”.
He clarified that Ceuta’s exhortations are not mere “rhetoric,” as evidenced by data that show that the autonomous city has “its reception capacity exceeded by 500%” Faced with “this level of demand”, he stressed that the services of the city’s Minors’ Quarter have responded “effectively, to the point that 70% of minors are in temporary and emergency resources”.
Despite this, he made it clear that “efforts are not enough”, which helped him to consider as “justified” the request for aid and relief launched on August 15. That is why he believes that the time has come for “the State in capital letters” to act, including, in this periphrasis, the Government and the autonomous communities.
This allowed him to show his “Complete coincidence” with Sira Rego when it comes to providing a response at “two simultaneous levels”: “relieving the emergency”, which, according to him, “can only be done by transferring minors to other communities and with the necessary funding for the cost of the State.” “of transfers and the emergency experienced in Ceuta”; and through a “structural, stable, sustainable approach over time, not subject to shocks” so that “when there is saturation in one or more communities, the transfer is agile and binding.”
