The far-right Vox once again snubs the Executive and will not attend the meeting on the distribution of migrant minors from Ceuta

This Thursday, the Sectoral Conference on Childhood and Adolescence will be held to address the distribution among the autonomous communities of the unaccompanied foreign minors who currently remain in Ceuta after the massive entry of people that occurred between July 30 and 31. In this regard, the far-right party led by Santiago Abascal has announced that it will not attend the meeting.

The decision has been communicated by the vice presidents of Castilla y León, Extremadura and Aragón, Carlos Pollán, Óscar Fernández Calle and Alejandro Nolasco, respectively. The three have sent letters to the Ministry of Youth and Childhood requesting that their express veto "to any distribution of unaccompanied foreign minors" from Ceuta "to any part of the national territory" be recorded in the meeting minutes.

The regional representatives justify their refusal by alleging that the communities governed by Vox are in a situation of "saturation." They also question the government's intention to address the territorial distribution of the 25 million euros allocated to these minors without having previously resolved the administrative situation of each one of them.

In their writings, the three leaders emphasize the State's powers in immigration and border matters. They argue that it is up to the central government to initiate and resolve the return or family reunification files provided for in article 35 of the Organic Law on Immigration. Until these procedures are concluded, they consider that the transfer of minors to other communities "lacks foundation" and "materially hinders the location of their parents."

Criticism of the distribution criterion

Vox also questions the system chosen by the Government to distribute the minors from Ceuta and defines it as a "capricious, random and arbitrary distribution" which, in their opinion, "does not pass the most elemental test of proportionality."

The vice presidents thus propose that minors remain provisionally in Ceuta during the weeks necessary to complete their reunification files, instead of being transferred hundreds of kilometers from their families. "Is the measure consisting of transferring a minor from Ceuta 800 kilometers from their family truly necessary and the least restrictive when there is a less disruptive alternative, which is to keep them provisionally in Ceuta during the few weeks necessary to complete the individual reunification file, near the border point where the reunification is to take place? Anyone who does not obtain a political or economic benefit from that transfer will say no," they state.

The regional representatives support their position on the Organic Law on the Legal Protection of Minors and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. According to them, the "best interest of the child" must translate into prioritizing their permanence with their family and in their environment of origin.

The documentation sent to the Ministry also includes requests related to the protection of minors against possible sexual offenses. Specifically, they demand "that no girl or adolescent, Spanish or foreign, suffer sexual assaults again in the streets of Ceuta or in reception centers."

In parallel, they request that "the perpetrators, accomplices, and accessories to these crimes be identified so that they are judged, condemned, and expelled in execution of sentence." Vox also proposes accelerating the return of minors who have suffered rape or sexual assault and prioritizing their family reunification.

As an alternative to transfer to other communities, the vice presidents also advocate for return and family reunification, as well as the handover of minors to Moroccan protection institutions. The Sectoral Conference on Childhood and Adolescence will be held this Thursday with the announced absence of the communities governed by Vox.