The Government Delegate has welcomed the approval of the Royal Decree approving the ordinary capacity of the system of protection and guardianship of foreign minors not accompanied by autonomous communities and cities. As he stressed, it “responds to an objective criterion, of justice and balance, which guarantees equal treatment for all territories.”
As explained, this Royal Decree establishes a structural and solidarity mechanism for redistribution, applying objective criteria such as population, per capita income, unemployment rate or previous reception effort. “It is a structural response, a solidarity measure that allows no territory to have to endure alone a pressure that at certain times may be unbearable,” he stressed.
Beneficial for Melilla
The highest representative of the Government of Spain in the city recalled that Melilla had already experienced a very important pressure on minors in previous stages, and that the absence of such an instrument made management difficult. “If at that time we had had the possibility of having a mechanism like this, we would certainly have appreciated it,” he said.
Although the ordinary capacity currently set for Melilla is 28 minors, the Delegate has stressed that the important thing is that, from now on, the distribution will always be made with clear and homogeneous criteria. “Thanks to this measure, we know that we will have a fair, objective and supportive system to face it,” he said.
In addition, he stressed that this is not a situation exclusive to a territory, but a national issue that requires solidarity and shared responsibility. “We cannot give timely answers to situations like this. What we need are structural, forward-looking responses that strengthen solidarity between territories and guarantee the rights of minors,” he said.
Ordinary capacity
The Delegate explained that the mechanism by which the ordinary capacity is approved is “very simple”. “At the end of each year, all Autonomous Communities are asked to certify how many unaccompanied migrant minors they have in their territory. With these figures, the total number of minors in the country is obtained and distributed according to the population of each community. That’s their ordinary ability: an objective and transparent calculation.”
In this regard, he has made it clear that “no community is discriminated against or given an advantage to another. “What this system does is provide a real X-ray of the situation, with official data certified by the officials of each autonomous community.”
Sabrina Moh pointed out that “there are communities that far exceed this ordinary capacity, such as Melilla, Ceuta or the Canary Islands, and others that are far below, which makes it essential that this sharing of solidarity is obligatory”.
On the other hand, he has described as “incomprehensible and unresponsible” that there are autonomies that do not even collaborate in the process. “It is striking that they criticize this measure without having even submitted the certificate with the number of minors they receive. Either you collaborate or you put sticks on the wheels, but what is at stake here is the protection of childhood,” he said.
Solidarity and dignity of minors
Finally, Moh has stressed that this mechanism not only provides relief for territories such as the Canary Islands and Ceuta, which are currently under extraordinary pressure, but also guarantees the rights and adequate care of unaccompanied migrant minors.
“The measure is accompanied by funding and strengthens the autonomous child protection systems. The most important thing is that it ensures that these children receive a dignified and humanitarian welcome,” he insisted.