Canary Islands migrant children left without EU‑mandated representative

A month after the European Migration and Asylum Pact (PEMA) entered into force, migrant minors arriving in the Canary Islands remain without the designated child representative the agreement promises. The regional government says that, in recent arrivals, the National Police used a cultural mediator from a collaborating NGO as a de‑facto representative, a move the director of Protection for Children and Families, Sandra Rodríguez, described as "not officially communicated and cannot be designated as the minor’s representative at this time."

The Canary Islands authorities have written to the police for clarification and are awaiting guidance from the national Ministry of Youth and Childhood on who should appoint the representatives. So far in 2024, 314 children and adolescents have arrived on the islands, including two recent boats that each carried over a hundred people and about thirty minors. The regional government plans to raise the issue at the upcoming Sectorial Migration Conference.

The lack of an appointed representative leaves vulnerable children in a procedural limbo, with unanswered questions about the start and end of the triage process and the role the representative should play throughout.