The obstacles to registration that the ultra mayor of Ripoll is placing on migrants who have recently arrived in the municipality, and that EL PERIÓDICO has denounced, are making access to healthcare and education difficult for many minors. This is a situation that worries the Department of Social Rightswhich among its powers is to ensure the rights and well-being of children and adolescents, and also to UNICEF.
The right to these services is included in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
He children’s right to health and education It is included in articles 24 and 28 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Minister of Social Law, Carles Campuzanoin accordance with its powers, and “following the information that appeared in the media about the limitations on the registration of migrant people” in Ripoll, addressed a letter this Friday to the mayor Silvia Orriols in which he asks for explanations of compliance with these two rights.
“I would like to formally urge the municipal government of Ripoll to respect the current regulations, which obligate all administrations”
Social Rights Councilor
“Given that the refusal to register could imply a violation of the articles of the Convention of Rights, I would like to formally urge the municipal government of Ripoll to respect current regulationsthat obliges all administrations of our country alike,” Campuzano explains in the letter to which this newspaper has had access.
That is why the minister asks Orriols for information about “the protocol changes that you have carried out in Ripoll on registration and that may affect the rights of children.” He closes the letter, pointing out that he expects “that the Ripoll City Council does not discriminate against any child for reasons of origin.”
Various migrant families have reported to this newspaper the difficulties they have in registering, despite having all the necessary documentation. City council workers have revealed that “previously, people were registered immediately if all the documentation was correct. But the mayor wanted to change the protocols and since September no one has been registered until three months have passed, which is the maximum period established by law.” , they told this newspaper.
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This same Thursday, the Ombudsman of Greuges, Esther Giménez-Salinas, sent another letter to the mayor reminding her, precisely, that the law provides that if a citizen comes to register with all the correct documentation, the procedure must be carried out immediately. Only in the event that there are doubts about the veracity of the information can the city council open queries that must be communicated to the applicant and resolved within a maximum period of three months.
Orriols’s behavior worries the administrations. The central government has given him a period of 20 days to explain how he is managing the registration process, a competence delegated to the town councils. Likewise, the European Commission has requested information from Spain on this matter. And the Department of Health has opened an investigation into the CAP of Ripoll for violating the universal health law, which establishes that public health centers must provide emergency care to all citizens, whether or not they have a registry.