The Failure to Support Unaccompanied Minors and the Violation of Human Rights
Despite the Departmental Council of the Alpes-Maritimes defending itself in the press through its President and Director General of Services, and despite the Prefect denying and criticizing local intellectuals and associations through the media, the Republic’s Prosecutor persisting in legal harassment against the supportive citizens of Roya to hide the obvious, unaccompanied foreign minors are not being supported even though they fall under child protection, and the right to asylum is being violated.
Amnesty International France submitted the findings of its observation mission on the French-Italian border, aptly titled “controls on the edge of the law.” The conclusion is clear:
– “The border control measures implemented by the French authorities prevent or discourage people from entering France, without any real consideration for respecting their rights and the legal guarantees framing these procedures. In most cases, those controlled at the border are deprived of any opportunity to assert their rights, particularly the right to seek asylum.”
– “Unaccompanied children do not receive the attention required by their vulnerable situation, as mandated by French child protection laws.”
– “(…) these human rights violations committed by the French authorities have forced citizens to mobilize to assist refugees and migrants; paradoxically, some of these citizens are being prosecuted by the French state.”
We are thus facing a clear violation of the right to asylum and child protection, masked by systematic stigmatization and an attempt to criminalize solidarity.
by David Nakache, Tous Citoyens
