The Spanish Ombudsmans office launched an independent investigation in September 2007, triggered by the Human Rights Watch report "Unwelcome Responsibilities: Spains Failure to Protect the Rights of Unaccompanied Migrant Children in the Canary Islands". This report documents serious human rights violations against several hundred unaccompanied migrant children housed in emergency care centers on the islands. The conclusions of the Ombudsmans investigation have now been made public.  
 
This criticism from Spain's main human rights body underlines the need for the authorities in Madrid and the Canary Islands to improve care for migrant children, said Simone Troller, childrens rights researcher for Human Rights Watch.  
 
The Ombudsman has confirmed a series of violations of the childrens rights that were initially documented in the Human Rights Watch report:  

• That there are credible reports of past ill-treatment of children in La Esperanza emergency center by former staff who have since left that workplace.
• Children are housed for one year and more in overcrowded, unsafe and substandard facilities that are intended only as temporary shelters.
• Children are detained in police stations upon arrival, including in inadequate conditions.
• Children do not receive documentation they are entitled to under Spanish law and as a result become undocumented migrants on their 18th birthday.

 

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