Illegal push-backs, detentions, lack of care… The situation of Unaccompanied Minors (UAM) in the Alpes-Maritimes is deteriorating as many young people experience difficult treatments.
UAM are defined as children under 18, of foreign nationality, present in France without being accompanied by an adult (holder of parental authority or legal representative). According to Article L411-1 of the Code of Entry and Residence of Foreigners and the Right of Asylum (CESEDA), foreign minors are not required to have a residence permit to live in France.
These individuals are, above all, children and should therefore benefit from all the rights outlined in the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). In line with the principle of non-discrimination (Article 2 of the CRC), foreign minors present in France have the same rights as minors of French nationality.
The Alpes-Maritimes Department Under Scrutiny
Deemed unworthy, numerous associations are condemning the treatment inflicted on UAM. “Tous Citoyens!” for instance, states that “*young people declaring themselves minors are being pushed back into Italy completely illegally, even though they should be admitted systematically and without delay into France*”. It is specified that “*it is the responsibility of Child Welfare Services (ASE), a department 06 service, to proceed with their minority evaluation, and not the police forces*”.
According to the association, *“nearly 70 minors were detained on August 21, in completely unsuitable premises and deplorable sanitary conditions: during a heatwave, crowded together and sleeping on the floor with only a sink and a toilet”*.
Supported by its signatories, including “La Cimade” and “Médecins du Monde”, Tous Citoyens demands “*effective care for all UAM, an immediate halt to push-backs into Italy without prior and regulatory evaluation by ASE, and an end to abusive detentions at the border post*”, hoping thus for “*full respect of the international convention on children’s rights in the Alpes-Maritimes department*”.
> “*Many of them declared themselves minors and isolated to be taken in by child welfare services*”
> — Éric Ciotti, President of the Finance Commission of the Alpes-Maritimes department
As early as April, Éric Ciotti sought to clarify the situation through a letter addressed to Gérald Darmanin, then Minister of the Interior. He lamented “*a deficiency in controls at this border, while a significant migratory wave is underway*”.
According to the MP, “*the Alpes-Maritimes, which by law is responsible for child welfare services, no longer has the means to manage the large and growing flow of foreigners claiming to be unaccompanied minors. This lack of resources is exacerbated by the recent departure of the two units combating illegal immigration (LIC) from the department*.”
