The Canary Islands will create a crisis committee to address the migration situation of maximum urgency. This was announced this Tuesday by the President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, at the plenary session of the Canary Islands Immigration Forum held in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which also included the participation of the Vice President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Manuel Domínguez, and the Minister of Social Welfare, Equality, Youth, Childhood, and Families, Candelaria Delgado.
In this way, the Canary Islands Executive continues "its roadmap" to address the migration emergency in the islands. "The objective is to be prepared for the migratory rebound that forecasts indicate, so that we can address the situations that will arise in the coming weeks quickly and in a coordinated manner," emphasizes Fernando Clavijo.
Also, at Tuesday's meeting, it was agreed to create a permanent commission of this forum and the Third Sector entities were asked for real-time information on reception capacity in order to respond to situations of maximum urgency.
Similarly, the various actions being carried out by the regional Executive are detailed so that the State can offer a "realistic and consensual" response to the more than 5,600 unaccompanied children who are being cared for in the network of 80 existing facilities in the archipelago.
Clavijo informs the plenary of the Forum of the results of the meeting he held this Monday in Madrid with international organizations and third sector entities that work in the reception and care of unaccompanied minors. In this regard, the President of the Canary Islands announces that "the Government will continue working throughout August to ensure that the Council of Ministers approves a decree-law to address the migration crisis in the islands from the co-responsibility of all the autonomous communities."
The Vice President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Manuel Domínguez, values "the work that the Government of the Canary Islands is carrying out to achieve that agreement that gives us the opportunity to legislate and be able to refer unaccompanied minors" to the rest of the autonomous communities. He also conveys his gratitude "to those who are on the front line caring for these unaccompanied minors, to the NGOs and to all the parties involved" in the management of the humanitarian emergency in the islands.
For her part, the Minister of Social Welfare, Candelaria Delgado, announces that she has asked the organizations dedicated to welcoming unaccompanied minors who arrive in the archipelago to know the real capacity that exists for their reception in the islands "and, from there, the implementation of new emergency measures, including the recent installation of tents in the docks of the Islands."
In this regard, she recalls that during the month of October of last year, an average of 100 unaccompanied minors arrived on the coasts of the archipelago per day "and the forecasts for this year are much higher, since it is estimated that the arrival of children to the Canary coasts in pateras and cayucos in the coming months could mean the need to accommodate 16,000 children in total, so we have to be prepared," she says.
Delgado insists that the situation in the Canary Islands "continues to be complicated and unsustainable, since we continue without finding resources or properties in which to locate these girls and boys with the guarantees of security and care they deserve, not only because the law requires it but because they are subjects of protection, and above other considerations, is the best interests of these children."
This is one of the issues that focused the meeting of the Plenary, together with the creation of the Crisis Committee and the Permanent Commission of the Forum, as bodies to jointly address situations that require urgent decisions in migration matters. Aspects of great importance are also addressed, such as the imminent approval of the Canary Islands Plan for Coexistence and Interculturality and the upcoming celebration of the Canary Islands Migration Day.
This is the first meeting held by the Canary Islands Immigration Forum after the recent renewal of its positions. This forum is an advisory body of the Canary Islands Government that brings together representatives of the regional Executive, the Canary Islands Federation of Islands (Fecai), the Canary Islands Federation of Municipalities (Fecam), the central Government, associations for the care of immigrants or refugees, non-governmental organizations, trade union and business organizations, and neighborhood organizations.
