In the evening of 29 June, a camp for about 100 teenagers was set up in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, square Jules Ferry. Although domestic laws and international conventions require France to ensure their protection, these young people have until now relied solely on associations and civil society support for their survival and shelter. Faced with a tragic deadlock situation, MSF and four other organisations (Comede, Utopia 56, Timmy, Midis du MIE) are calling on the Départements of Ile-de-France to organise real comprehensive and systematic care for foreign unaccompanied minors.
Like many others across the country, the adolescents in this camp have filed an appeal before the Ile-de-France juvenile judges to try assert their rights and be placed in the care by the Child Protection Services, which act under the responsibility of the Départements.
Their first application for protection got denied after initial interviews conducted by the Départements. However, the interviews to assess their minority and isolation are often cursory assessments, conducted without an interpreter and which do not take into account any identity documents. There is thus a large margin of error. For example, 56% of adolescents accompanied by Médecins Sans Frontières in 2018 who challenged the initial Départements assessment in court were finally recognised as minors by a juvenile judge in 2019, after many months left to their own devices.
People declaring themselves as unaccompanied minors must be considered as children in danger and protected as such, regardless of nationality. However, for years now, many foreign unaccompanied minors have been deprived of the protection of the Départements and left with no other alternative than the street. This blatant neglect persisted throughout the winter truce and the COVID-19 pandemic, when associations and civil society groups were the sole supporters of hundreds of unaccompanied foreign minors.
The objective is to render more visible the tragic situation of the unaccompanied minors and to push those responsible for protecting them to act and fulfil their obligations.
After a month spent in the tents of the square, in precarious conditions despite the support of volunteers and our five organisations, the minors got eventually evacuated to be sheltered by public authorities in a gymnasium. This is a temporary solution while Paris City Hall in link with State services committed to deliver a more sustainable solution and to open a new dedicated program.