He Ministry of Youth and Children sent a report to the Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office on the protocol approved by the Government of the Canary Islands concerning migrant minors, considering that this may constitute a serious violation of fundamental rights of childhood.
Adage protocolpublished this Thursday by the Executive of the Canary Islands in its official bulletin, underlines that the guardianship of minors arriving by boat is initially the responsibility of the State and warns that will not accept them into their reception centers if they do not arrive correctly identified and with an individualized mission.
After its publication, the The Canary Islands Public Prosecutor’s Office has issued a decree in which he gave instructions to identify “people from the General Directorate of Child Protection of the Government of the Canary Islands” who are protected from receiving in their centers children arriving in Cayuco, and will investigate whether they committed a crime of abandonment minors or not.
This Saturday, the Ministry that leads Sira Rego explains that the legislation and the autonomy statute of the Canary Islands itself indicate that the competence in matters of protection of minors is exclusive to the communitywhatever situation they find themselves in.
The report sent by this service to the juvenile prosecutor’s office indicates that the protocol violates Article 39.4 of the Constitution Spanish which establishes that “children will be protected provided for in international agreements that protect their rights,” according to sources from the ministry quoted by Efe.
Furthermore, it does not take into account the best interests of the minor, recognized in law. Charter of the Rights of the Child and the legislation on children’s rights and constitutes a violation of the rights of minors by limiting their protection in the autonomous territory. Likewise, it violates these rights by not taking proactive measures to ensure the well-being of the minor and is contrary to the Autonomy status to the extent that the community does not exercise its exclusive competence in matters of child protection.
“With this approach, the Canary Islands endangers the rights of children and adolescents in situations of helplessness“, according to the Ministry of Youth and Children, which expresses its commitment to children’s rights, institutional collaboration and territorial solidarity.
