The Minister of Social Welfare, Candelaria Delgado, held a working meeting today with the representative of UNHCR in Spain, Sophie Muller
During 2023, a total of 1.598 migrant and refugee minors have arrived on the Canary Islands coasts, 1.483 boys and 115 girls.
“We expect a significant arrival of minors, women and migrant and refugee families in the coming weeks,” said the Minister of Social Welfare, Equality, Youth, Children and Families, Candelaria Delgado, during the work meeting she held today with Sophie Muller, the Representative in Spain of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
At this meeting, the challenge posed by the arrivals of unaccompanied migrant and refugee children was analyzed, a particularly vulnerable group in which the needs for international protection may be greater than in adults, due to the specific circumstances that motivate their departure. and the absence of the possibility of return in the short term. It is therefore necessary to join forces to identify and protect refugee children and address the situation of the immediate reception facilities in the Canary Islands. To this end, Delgado stated, we ask not only for the solidarity of the rest of the autonomous communities but also for compliance with the agreement reached within the framework of the XXVI Conference of Presidents in March 2022, where the need to welcome these boys and girls from co-responsible manner within Spanish territory, as well as the involvement of the European Union in this line since, he recalled, “The Canary Islands are Europe's southern border.”
According to data from the Ministry, so far this year, a total of 186 boats and cayucos have arrived to the islands, in which 1.598 unaccompanied minors were traveling, 1.483 boys and 115 girls. In addition, 13 missing minors were registered and 5 lost their lives.
In this sense, the counselor clarified that during the month of August there has been a lower arrival of boys and girls in relation to previous months although, she insisted, "we hope that the arrival of minors as well as women and families to our coasts seeking a opportunity for a better life will increase considerably in the months of September and October. It is common for male adults to arrive first and, in subsequent waves, more migrant and refugee women and children join.”
This was one of the issues that focused on the working meeting held in Tenerife with the head of UNHCR, Sophie Muller, in which the need to continue and expand cooperation between both institutions was addressed in order to guarantee the legal and social protection of migrant and refugee minors.
In this regard, Muller shared the “Guide for professionals working with unaccompanied refugee children” published by UNHCR together with the Universidad Pontificia Comillas, and reiterated UNHCR's willingness to collaborate with the Canary Islands Government and, among other measures, support the group of asylum referents and the migrant and refugee childhood table in the Canary Islands for the development of a protocol for action and support in cases of asylum for minors in the Canary Islands.
Likewise, the meeting addressed the situation of women who arrive by sea to the Canary Islands. Many of them are survivors of gender-based persecution in their home countries, such as female genital mutilation, forced marriages or gender-based violence, or along the route. UNHCR recalled that it is essential to manage the arrivals of migrant and refugee women from a gender perspective that guarantees correct identification of their needs, as well as their protection and referral to appropriate assistance devices.
