UN Condemns Spain for Denying Education to Moroccan Child in Melilla

"Despite various legal proceedings, the local authorities refused to authorize AEA to attend the public school," the UN committee said in a statement. Yet the young boy was born in 2013 in Melilla and lives there with his mother. Faced with this refusal, the latter filed a complaint with the United Nations Committee in March 2020, which recognized the violation of the child’s right to education, reports EFE.

But it took more than a year for the Spanish Ministry of Education to order the local authorities to admit AEA to school. The admission of the boy "came too late and does not fully repair the damage caused by his prolonged absence from school," said Luis Pedernera, a member of the committee, adding that "he could have learned in a classroom and made friends with other boys and girls his age, even if he does not have Spanish nationality." The Committee therefore asked Spain to compensate the Moroccan child for the harm suffered and to take appropriate measures to allow him to catch up on his educational knowledge.

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Like AEA, six other minors residing in Spain have been admitted to school after their families filed complaints with the Committee. In total, more than 150 children from families whose parents do not have residence permits in Melilla remain excluded from the public education system. A situation that the UN committee has asked Spain to regularize by quickly having the local administrative and judicial authorities confirm the residence of the minors in order to admit them without delay into the education system.