Sira Rego assures that 1342 minors have been counted and they are working so that "the reception plan develops with maximum speed"

Sira Rego, Minister of Youth and Childhood, has stated from the Autonomous City of Ceuta, that so far, a total of 1,342 minors have been counted after the massive arrival of migrants to the autonomous city. "Since last week, we have been at the disposal of the authorities and in permanent contact with them. As you know, the situation is very complicated and there are many boys and girls. For now, the figure I can provide is 1,342 minors registered and identified in the reception system," the minister affirmed.

Furthermore, Rego announced that starting August 16, "a technical team from the Ministry of Youth and Childhood will permanently move to Ceuta so that the reception procedure can be carried out as quickly as possible." On the other hand, the Minister of Youth and Childhood pointed out that the Government has prioritized "the most vulnerable profiles, and these are children under 13 years old, of whom there is a significant volume. The migratory profile has changed compared to 2021: more unaccompanied girls have arrived, as well as very young unaccompanied boys. The procedure establishes attending to the most vulnerable profiles first, but all minors will be attended to."

The minister did not stop there, and continued by saying that, "I believe we have to be very rigorous, already generating the procedures for these children to emerge, approach the Police, be registered, and for the necessary infrastructures to be enabled to attend to them. This work must be done day by day to reach a situation where all children are taken in." And along these same lines, the minister emphasized that "there are parents who are claiming their children from Morocco and many of those children do not want to return with them," although she did not forget that the protocol "establishes that the priority is always family reunification."

Finally, Rego commented that, "Spain guarantees the rights of children and the best interests of the child, complying with human rights standards. We, of course, are open to enabling any mechanism that, respecting the rights of boys and girls, prioritizes their best interests."

Dozens of minors in Ceuta to be identified

Dozens of minors who irregularly entered Ceuta on July 30 have been gathering since early Friday morning at the doors of the Superior Police Headquarters of the city to be identified. Most of these minors had not been able to be identified by the National Police, due to not being able to go to the reception centers.

The Police, until now, had managed to register 528 minors, but it was known that the number was much higher. These children had not appeared at police facilities nor had they gone to the reception centers managed by the Government of Ceuta, which is why they had not been identified. Some minors were hidden in different areas for fear of being repatriated to their country of origin, until they were informed that they must be identified to be taken into custody by the Autonomous City within the legally established procedure in these situations.