Spain Defends Plan to Return Unaccompanied Minors to Morocco, Citing Bilateral Agreement

In a letter written in response to the one sent by the Ceuta government delegation, the Secretary of State for Security asked to "proceed, as indicated by the Ministry of the Interior, to the return of minors to Morocco, while preserving their interests and rights" in order "to guarantee the conditions for the effective family reunification of each minor or their transfer to a guardianship institution".

The Ceuta government delegation, upon receiving this letter from the Secretary of State, had noted that under the 2007 agreement, Morocco undertakes to guarantee the best interests of the minors until they are returned to their parents "as soon as possible", or failing that, "to a child protection service for their care". The Secretary of State for Security also adds that the national police have already "been instructed to collaborate and facilitate the process", according to Ceuta Ahora.

It was after receiving this letter from the Marlaska department that the operation to return the minors to Morocco was launched. It was then suspended by the courts, after a complaint filed by various associations and NGOs defending children’s rights, denouncing the "illegal" nature of the operation.