Lourdes Reyzábal: "Some minors returned to Moroccan authorities report having suffered violence"

BarcelonaLourdes Reyzábal is the president of the Raíces Foundation, which has been working for years to defend the rights of migrant minors. Also in Ceuta, where this Tuesday the Spanish government has raised to 70,000 the number of people who crossed the border from Morocco. Despite the return of the majority, there are still a thousand children and adolescents in care.

What is the situation these minors are facing?

— They are trapped between the ferocity of European and Spanish borders, which are a steamroller of their rights, and the instrumentalization by Morocco and other countries of origin that disregard their protection. Spain and Morocco are countries obliged to understand each other, but once again, these children have been used as a projectile and exposed to total helplessness and violation of rights. Once they are in our territory, child protection must be prioritized, their rights guaranteed, and any child fleeing countries in conflict or other forms of violence must not be returned.

What differences and similarities do you see with respect to the 2021 Ceuta migratory crisis?

— Again, states are using people as bargaining chips for economic and political purposes, especially vulnerable minors. If all institutions valued child protection as it deserves, there would be no doubt about inter-territorial cooperation, but sadly Europe has shown a lack of solidarity with the city of Ceuta and with all of Spain. It is the obligation of all EU administrations to ensure the protection of all children, beyond the city or country they have reached, because they are members of the United Nations and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

What errors are repeating?

— Lack of foresight, the situation of lack of protection and abandonment of thousands of children; lack of guarantees in access to the asylum process and rights violations in alleged voluntary returns and repatriation of minors. Also the lack of interterritorial solidarity between autonomous communities, political instrumentalization and hate speech.

Is Ceuta in a position to guarantee the protection and care these minors need?

— Hundreds of minors are currently outside the reception system, literally sleeping on the streets or hidden. The autonomous city's minors department cannot guarantee, on its own, the protection of all minors who have arrived, and therefore, many are being left in a situation of absolute helplessness and exposed to being victims of any form of violence or exploitation. Multiple realities converge in Ceuta that require urgent attention, such as babies and young children, adolescents from border areas and sub-Saharan regions, and mothers with young children. Some have endured months of transit and violence, and can request international protection. Many of the young people who come from Morocco are those who a few months ago raised their voices against a regime that disregards their rights and frustrates any future project they may have.

Do most of these children want to continue their migratory project or do they want to return to their families?

— Our experience tells us that, in general, they will want to stay in Spain to find protection and build a better future. And one should not seek return if there is a reasonable risk to their rights. If there is a desire to return and families are located, the minor must enter the protection system until reunification, and this can never consist of mere handover to the Moroccan authorities due to risk of lack of protection or violence. However, we are aware that some minors who have been returned have reported suffering violence. According to other organizations, some have been repatriated against their will and without legal procedure being respected. It will be necessary to study, case by case, placing the best interests of each child at the center of administrative action. And the presumption of minority must always prevail.

The political debate is focusing on the distribution of minors between the autonomous communities and political colors. Are you worried that the political confrontation of 2024, with the minors from the Canary Islands, will be repeated?

— The confrontation exists from the moment when the Administration, through the cities and autonomous communities, is not offering immediate emergency care to these children. The Spanish government must use the framework of interterritorial cooperation to reduce the pressure on border territories and guarantee, together with the autonomous communities, the protection of all children in situations of abandonment. Until this is possible, it must provide the autonomous city with the necessary resources so that this protection can be guaranteed.

Are you worried that this new crisis could fuel anti-immigration and racist messages?

— Spain and Europe must move away from the geopolitical parameters and the discourse of the migratory avalanche, which stigmatizes people, blames them, and diverts focus from those who are the true cause of this terrible situation. We must put all our efforts into managing the humanitarian drama, with much greater co-responsibility and diligence, and place scrupulous respect for human rights at the center of all our actions. Economic, geopolitical, and political interests, on both sides of our borders, over the last forty years, have led a large part of our society to believe and defend that immigration policies and border control must take precedence over respect for human rights and, especially, the right to life, even in the case of the most vulnerable people.

What worries you most right now and what urgent measures should be taken to prevent this situation from becoming chronic?

— We are concerned about the situation of abandonment and lack of protection in which children and potential international protection applicants find themselves, and the fact that summary returns to Morocco without guarantees have begun, as in 2021. The Constitutional Court requires an individualized assessment and the Supreme Court ruled in 2024 that border rejection and return procedures are not legally provided for minors. In fact, it condemned the Government delegation for doing so.