Fernando Clavijo says islands unable to care for underage migrants with dignity

After a record-breaking year of migrant arrivals, the president of Spain’s Canary Islands called the situation on the islands “unsustainable” on Monday.

“If we’re talking about storing children away and letting people sleep outside, we have the space,” Fernando Clavijo told broadcaster Cadena Ser. “But if we’re talking about attending to the people in accordance with their human rights, we do not have the capacity.”

In recent days, thousands of migrants have arrived or been rescued in small boats traveling to the Canary Islands from northwest Africa.

In the year through Dec. 15, a record-breaking 44,700 people successfully made the perilous journey, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry. A recent report by the NGO Walking Borders estimates that nearly 10,500 died trying.

Following the wave of arrivals, Clavijo said the islands, with a population of around 2.2 million, are now hosting nearly 6,000 unaccompanied child migrants.

When they arrive in Spain, the children are placed under state care and have legal rights that compel authorities to offer them proper education and protection.

Clavijo said some of the island’s centers for minors are hosting 300 children, even though they are designed to hold a maximum of 20.

“There is a roof and a bathroom, yes, but we are absolutely not able to offer psychological help, and these are children with trauma, who have seen everything in these boats. We cannot teach them Spanish. These are their rights, which oblige us to guarantee a life project for these minors,” he explained.

He criticized both the Spanish government and the main opposition party — the Popular Party in Madrid — for failing to relocate minors to mainland Spain.

“Both are leaving the Canary Islands, as well as all of these children, alone in the face of an unprecedented migration crisis,” he said. “The Spanish government isn’t acting and intervening despite having the power to do so, and the Popular Party is blocking (any agreements).”

The Spanish government has proposed a long-term solution to make the redistribution of child migrants automatic, but it has been blocked by the Popular Party.

Clavijo said his government proposed an extraordinary measure to relocate 4,000 underage migrants to the rest of Spain, but it has been ignored by Madrid.

“That means we would keep around 1,800, which is still a lot for us, but it would allow us to treat them with dignity,” he said.

Earlier this year, the Popular Party was reportedly close to backing the Spanish government’s plan. However, the far-right party Vox threatened to block all of its budget proposals in regions where its support was needed.

In the summer, Vox also broke several regional governing pacts with the Popular Party after the conservative party decided to accommodate 400 young migrants in the regions it controlled. By Alyssa Mcmurtry, Anadolu Agency

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Saturday that he is “closely” following the agreement reached between Ethiopia and Somalia with Turkish mediation and expressing hope it "would contribute to achieving security and stability in the Horn of Africa, according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency.

It came during a telephone call al-Sisi received from his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.

Al-Sisi added that he is "closely following the agreement recently reached between Ethiopia and Somalia through Turkish mediation."

He expressed his "hope that this agreement would contribute to achieving security and stability in the Horn of Africa region, and that it would be in line with the principles of international law."

The two presidents emphasized "the importance of further enhancing cooperation across various fields, especially economic and investment, while emphasizing the need to attract more French companies to invest in development projects in Egypt," it said.

The call also involved an exchange of views on regional developments.

The Egyptian president stressed "the close link between security and stability in the Horn of Africa and Egypt's national security."

He pointed out that Egypt “is working to support Somalia to achieve security and stability, whether through bilateral cooperation or by participating in the African Union peacekeeping mission at Somalia's request."

Ethiopia and Somalia have been at odds since Ethiopia struck a deal in January with Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland to use its Red Sea port of Berbera. Türkiye has been working to resolve these tensions.

The Ankara Declaration, brokered by Türkiye and signed Dec. 12, marked a turning point in relations between the Horn of Africa neighbours.

Somalian and Ethiopian leaders emphasized that the declaration “reaffirmed their respect and commitment to one another’s sovereignty, unity, independence, and territorial integrity.” *Writing by Rania Abu Shamala, Anadolu Agency