The supreme orders urgent measures to the government with the minors applicants for asylum of the Canary Islands | Spain

The Supreme Court has ordered the Government to adopt measures to comply with “urgent” the order that gave him last March of taking charge of more than a thousand minors Not accompanied asylum seekers in the Canary Islands who now live in community reception centers. In a order notified this Thursday, the Contentious-Administrative Chamber urges the Executive to account every 15 days of the advances to comply with that order and warns him of “coercive measures”, as fines and even a possible criminal complaint, in case the breach persists. It is a clear warning to the Ministry of Migration and Interior, which must guarantee the reception, but also the correct processing of applications, respectively.

« The legal services are analyzing the new resolution to comply with it in a timely manner, » said Migrations in a statement in which he defends that complying with the order of the Supreme requires centers that are designed for adults and that requires « objectives » for its materialization.

The Supreme Decision arrives after last week The Government would recognize in the high court that not only had not welcomed any minor asylum applicant in the Canary Islands – although the magistrates gave him a period of 10 days to do so – but had not evaluated the circumstances of any of them as the first step to comply with the order. The magistrates also reproach the delays to formalize the asylum applications of the boys, a procedure that is dilated up to one year and that has a negative impact on the entire process. « The state administration has not been effectively involved in guaranteeing the access of these minors to the reception conditions that result from their competence, nor has it adopted effective measures to correct the massification in the processing of applications, » reads the car.

On May 29, in a public view chaired by the former president of the Supreme Court, Carlos Lesmes, the representatives of the State Administration alleged who were waiting for the Fernando Clavijo Executive to contribute documentation, an extreme that the Canarian government denies. The State Advocacy also assured that there are no specific resources to accommodate these minors, and that it can only immediately dispose of 45 places, although it is preparing for forced marches another 150 to try to fulfill the order of the Supreme.

The Supreme has not been convinced of any of those explanations and gives the « clear breach » of the order it gave more than two months ago. The Court reproaches the Government that its movements to fulfill its mission (a collaboration protocol and a request for information) were executed “only in the immediately previous days” before the view of May 29.

The Court insists that it is the central executive who has to take care of these minors and, to avoid continuing to expand compliance with their order, impose a calendar and measures aimed at expediting the processing of asylum requests of unaccompanied minors and their access to the international reception system. The Supreme also asks for names and surnames of the ministerial managers to comply with the measures. And it points directly to the possibility of acting against ministers with competence in the field: Elma Saiz, in inclusion, social security and migrations, and Fernando Grande-Marlaska, in the case of interior. Coercive measures will consist of fines of up to 1,500 euros or deduction of testimony (denounced before a criminal court) to demand responsibilities.

The magistrates give the Central Executive 30 days to provide the administrative offices responsible for the processing of international protection requests « of the necessary personal and material means » to be formalized, processed and resolved « within a reasonable time, without having elapsed more than six days between the manifestation of the will to request international protection and the formalization of the application. » In addition, it requires that « within the non -extendable period of 15 days » articulate « in the form that is most effective » collaboration with the Canarian government.

The supreme car has known a couple of hours before the president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, participated in an event on migrant childhood, together with the Secretary of State for Youth, Rubén Pérez. Clavijo has celebrated the car, but has lamented the time elapsed. « Having to go to court (…) gives the satisfaction that we were effectively right, but also the bitterness that for two years many boys and girls who have traveled alone, who were entitled to conditions due to their refugee status, their rights have been violated. » The Canarian President also launched a dart against Interior and Migrations: « Not everyone in the Government of Spain has understood the situation. Certain ministries have not acted diligently. »

Pérez, on the other hand, defended that the Executive will comply with the court order, after warning that in his ministry they were always in favor of accelerating the measures that the Supreme now demands. « Public administrations have the duty to collaborate in matters that often transcends the debate of the competences, » he said.

It remains to be seen now the measures and speed with which the ministries involved act. Although it now shows a high court car, the question of minors who request asylum is a cause for concern, especially the overcrowding of the overflows in the centers of the islands. In his recommendations in this regard, the Ombudsman has already suggested to migrations to enable a reception center with the molds of those who opened to receive Ukrainian children and adults to formalize their requests and identify the particular reception needs for their derivation to the most appropriate reception resource.