Infancia separada: What happens to unaccompanied children arriving in Spain?
Eurochild member Plataforma de Infancia has released a report highlighting gaps in data collection, legal representation, support services, and coordination, while proposing improvements to first-reception policies and practices to ensure that all children arriving in Spain have their rights protected from the very beginning.
The absence of an adult who can legally represent these unaccompanied children and the lack of specific protocols for their care have led to disparate institutional responses. Plataforma warns that the lack of legal recognition of the category of "separated children" in Spanish legislation contributes to this situation of vulnerability. The absence of a regulatory framework and specific protocols means that decisions are made without clear common criteria and that the responses of the authorities can vary depending on the region or institution. This is compounded by the lack of coordination and clarity regarding the roles of the various actors involved in initial reception.
The report also expresses concern about the practice of automatically separating children and adolescents from the adults accompanying them, sometimes adopted as a protective measure. When these decisions are made without evidence of trafficking, objective danger, or imminent risk, and without a specific procedure to guarantee the assessment of the child's best interests, they can constitute a violation of their rights.
Another factor that increases the vulnerability of separated children is the lack of documentation and legal representation. This situation hinders their ability to fully exercise their rights and limits their access to the resources and guarantees provided by the child protection system.
The report also warns of the scarcity of official data on this phenomenon. The lack of systematic information makes it impossible to adequately assess the situation of separated children and hinders the design of effective public policies that address their protection needs.
Given this situation, Plataforma considers it a priority to advance measures that guarantee an institutional response based on children's rights. Among these measures, they propose including the definition of " separated children" in Spanish legislation to guide the application of the protection measures required by these children. They also propose the development of a specific national framework protocol for the care of separated children. This protocol should guarantee consistent action based on the best interests of the child and prioritise, whenever there is no risk or indication of trafficking, keeping children and adolescents with their primary caregivers.
Finally, training in children's rights in mobility contexts must be ensured for key actors, such as social services responsible for assessing the best interests of the child or the State Security Forces responsible for the care, identification and initial detection of vulnerabilities in arrivals by non-regular routes.
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