– It’s almost hard to believe it’s true. Hearing about children under the age of five who you don’t know where they will end up. I know the feelings only too well. Dag Inge Ulstein in the Christian People’s Party sits with blank eyes and folds her hands over her mouth. – Almost the entire primary and secondary school in the municipality I come from is gone, almost 500 children. It’s horrible to hear. The Storting representative was Minister for Development from 2019 to 2021. He reacts strongly to the revelation that 432 unaccompanied minor asylum seekers have disappeared from asylum reception centers and care centers in Norway since 2015, and the state still does not know their whereabouts. The police rarely or never looked for them. This is revealed in a survey carried out by news in collaboration with the Center for Investigative Journalism. We have revealed this: news, in collaboration with the Center for Investigative Journalism, has been given access to a number of figures and documents. These are our overall findings: The state still does not know the fate of 432 unaccompanied minor asylum seekers who disappeared from asylum reception centers and care centers from 2015 until autumn 2022. Five of them were ten years old or younger. The youngest was five years old. The police have, to a small extent, actively searched for the missing children and young people, despite the fact that in 2015 a joint Storting decided that children should be searched for on the same lines as Norwegian children. Several of those who have disappeared are not found in the police’s system. Not everyone is wanted. Missing reports in many cases remain with the police for a long time before a case is opened. Several are portrayed as vulnerable, mentally ill and violent, but are still not actively searched for. The police are doing more in missing persons cases with Norwegian citizens. Fear of human trafficking One of them is Agathe (16), who disappeared when she was sent by the guard on a ten-hour long bus trip between two reception centers in Western Norway on New Year’s Eve seven years ago. Her asylum lawyer raised the alarm and feared that the girl was being subjected to human trafficking. – The recommended route has three or four bus changes, says Ulstein, who has looked up the itinerary on his mobile phone. – You can end up anywhere on this route here. It is absolutely incredible, says Ulstein. – One can begin to wonder: is there no one who mourned for these children? Who is the manguard, the headlines in the local newspapers, the Facebook actions? Don’t these children have equal value? Then the politician states: – 432 children… I have no words. Something must be done. We must do everything we can to order an investigation and get on the table what has happened. Day Inge Ulstein checks the itinerary Agathe was supposed to take alone from Jølster to Ullensvang. Photo: Silje Rognsvåg / news Peppering the Minister of Justice with questions It is not only KrF that is reacting. The revelation shakes all the political parties in the Storting news has spoken to. Tobias Drevland Lund is immigration policy spokesperson for Raudt. Photo: Silje Rognsvåg / news Socialist Left Party, Raudt, Venstre, the Green Party and the Progress Party are supporting KrF in investigating what may have happened to the 432 underage asylum seekers. But they will not wait until a report is ready. SV, Raudt and MDG have already started peppering the Minister of Justice and Emergency with written questions about why more has not been done to find the children and young people. – I think it is a political responsibility to find out what has gone wrong and to the greatest extent possible ensure that it does not happen again, says Tobias Drevland Lund (R). Grete Wold is immigration policy spokesperson for SV. Photo: Silje Rognsvåg / news – UDI, child protection, the police and reception must work together and find a good form of communication so that this does not happen, says Grete Wold (SV). Venstre and Frp also announce that they will challenge the minister. In addition, MDG has invited the Minister for Children and Families to a debate in the Storting, a so-called interpellation. Close asylum reception or child protection? Erlend Wiborg is immigration policy spokesperson for the Frp. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB The Progress Party’s Erlend Wiborg would have preferred to have a completely closed asylum reception to prevent disappearances altogether. But he does not get a majority in the Storting for that. – That is why I think it is important to have a full review here. We cannot have children disappear without a trace. It is completely independent whether you are an asylum seeker or a Norwegian youth, says Wiborg. MDG and SV believe that the solution is rather to transfer responsibility for all minor asylum seekers to child protection. Today, UDI is responsible for those over the age of 15, who then end up in reception rather than a care centre. – We will also place greater emphasis on the best interests of the child in asylum cases and ensure that the Convention on the Rights of the Child always trumps immigration policy consideration, says Lan Marie Berg (MDG). Lan Marie Berg in the Green Party. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB Høgre awaits a review The biggest parties are not in favor of a full investigation now, but share the concern among professionals that the missing minor asylum seekers may end up in human trafficking and crime. Mari Holm Lønseth is immigration policy spokesperson for Høgre. Photo: Silje Rognsvåg / news Høgres Mari Holm Lønseth believes that the government itself should consider going through the entire case complex, before the Storting demands an investigation. – A review can be wise to get a better overview, learn and implement effective measures. If time should show that the government is not handling this matter in a good way, it will of course put the matter in a new light, says Lønseth. The governing parties Arbeidarpartiet and Senterpartiet jointly reply by e-mail that it is “worrying when young single asylum seekers disappear from reception”, and believes that the cases must be given the same priority as other cases of disappearance. Otherwise, they refer to the Ministry of Justice. The minister points to the police State Secretary Astrid Bergmål replies in an e-mail to news that “UDI is preoccupied with facilitating the best possible solutions at the reception to prevent disappearances from happening”. Astrid Bergmål is state secretary in the Ministry of Justice. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB She admits that they “can’t rule out that someone becomes a victim of human trafficking, or ends up in other situations of exploitation or other crime.” “The reception is required to follow routines for the identification and follow-up of possible victims of human trafficking. In cases where individual minors disappear from reception, the UDI has routines for follow-up, which, among other things, means that child protection, representatives, defense counsel, lawyers and the police are notified.” When asked whether the government is satisfied with how the UDI and reception have handled the disappearances since 2015, the ministry refers to the Directorate of Police. The Norwegian Police Directorate stated on Tuesday that it is important that news shine a spotlight on this topic. They will contact the police district to gain more knowledge about practice in such cases, and to understand why so few are registered missing. – The figures news refers to are disturbing, and unaccompanied minor asylum seekers are a particularly vulnerable group that must be taken care of, says department director Bjørn Vandvik.
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Several political parties demand an investigation into missing asylum seekers – news Vestland
