Spanish Church Condemns Mass Deportation of Moroccan Minors from Ceuta

Collective returns of minors "pose a serious problem for the minors themselves," the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) said in a statement, expressing its concern about the repatriation to Morocco of the minors who arrived en masse in Ceuta in May. According to the institution, "from a moral, ethical and legal point of view," the response to the massive arrivals "cannot be mass returns, but each case should be examined in a personalized manner," in accordance with the national and international legal framework.

To read: UN Condemns Morocco’s Deportation of Unaccompanied Minors as Violation of International Law

The Spanish Episcopal Conference is actually wondering whether these returns are carried out according to an individualized procedure, as provided for in the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, international treaties and Organic Law 1/1996 on the legal protection of the child and Organic Law 8/2015 on the protection of children and adolescents.

To read: NGOs Condemn Illegal Deportation of Unaccompanied Minors from Ceuta, Citing Rights Violations

In its statement signed by Mgr José Cobo, bishop in charge of the migration department, the CEE believes that it is essential to respect the texts in force in order to "guarantee above all the life and safety of minors." Minors whose "consent" must be obtained before any "possible repatriation," the CEE specifies, recalling the obligation for the States of origin and arrival of the minors to protect them and listen to them, "to guarantee them individually their return to the family when they request it, or their care and protection when they result from situations of vulnerability, ill-treatment, poverty or exploitation."

To read: Spanish Prosecutors Launch Probe into Repatriation of Moroccan Migrant Children

"We fear the massive escapes of children from reception centers and the situation of powerlessness and impact on the population that could result. That is why we have launched as a Church and society to seek solutions based on dialogue between States, personalized attention and the guarantee of rights, solidarity at all levels and the safety of all," the CEE concluded in its statement.