Spain’s Supreme Court ruled Monday that the authorities acted illegally when they forcibly deported approximately 1,500 unaccompanied minor migrants to Morocco following a mass border crossing into Ceuta that happened in May 2021.
Despite acknowledging the “extraordinary challenge” encountered by Spain and the local government in Ceuta, the court concluded that the Spanish authorities completely disregarded the requirements of Spanish migration law and European human rights law.
The Spanish Interior Ministry defended the repatriation of unaccompanied children over the border, claiming that they displayed a voluntary desire to return home. Spanish officials dismissed accusations that the returns breached international law.
The Supreme Court ruled the Spanish authorities’ actions were illegal due to the lack of individual administrative procedures, hearings for minor migrants, and other legal resources.
The court also confirmed that the authorities breached minors’ rights by failing to examine their interests or circumstances before repatriating them, which could expose them to serious physical or psychological injury.
It also emphasized that the collective expulsion of migrants, which occurred in this case, violated Article 4 of Protocol No.4 of the European Convention on Human Rights, of which Spain is a signatory.
Spain’s leftist government contended in court that a 2007 bilateral agreement between Spain and Morocco allowed for the return of the minors, mentioning the “exceptional circumstances of the mass border crossing in May 2021. This argument was ultimately rejected by the Spanish Court.
For context, around 12,000 migrants, including hundreds of unaccompanied minors, tried to cross into the occupied city of Ceuta, by scaling a border fence or swimming around it in a period of two days. The incident happened amid a diplomatic rift between Rabat and Madrid.
Three months after the large influx of migrants, Spanish authorities initiated the repatriation of approximately 1,500 minors to Morocco in August.
Many of the individuals who crossed the border in 2021 were thought to be Sub-Saharan migrants seeking a better life in Europe.
Each year, thousands of Sub-Saharan African migrants undertake their journey to Spain from Morocco.
At least 6,618 migrants died or disappeared while trying to reach Spain by sea in 2023, which is three times the number (2390) recorded in 2022.
The total includes 384 children, according to the organization, which compiles its figures from families of migrants who died or went missing and from official rescue statistics.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.