The government is not satisfied with its own clean-up job in asylum children’s disappearances – news Vestland

– I am getting fed up, and that is why the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness has now taken action, says State Secretary Erik Evensen (Ap) in Politisk kvarter on Wednesday morning. There he was challenged on what has been done for the around 400 asylum children who have the status of missing in Norway. – We have taken action, but are not satisfied with the work that has been done so far. We will do more, says Eriksen. Recently, news told the story of “Yusuf”, who disappeared from a reception when he was 9 years old, and little was done to find him. Several parliamentary parties have challenged the government to get more on track. Sharpening police routines Eriksen can now say that during the autumn the police will revise their own routines for handling missing persons cases. – Asylum children in particular must be mentioned and highlighted as a vulnerable group in society, says Eriksen. This is in addition to the Police Directorate’s review, and the changes a working group proposed this spring to ensure that different agencies talk better together. State Secretary Even Eriksen (Ap) in the Political Quarter on Wednesday. Photo: Lars Os Challenge to get it right in the Storting Dag Inge Ulstein (KrF) points out that it seems that asylum children who disappear are searched for less because they have less value than Norwegian children. Dag Inge Ulstein is 1st deputy head of KrF. Photo: Silje Rognsvåg / news – I would be very careful to say that, replies Eriksen. Ulstein repeated the challenge to the government to come to the Storting to find out what has been done so far. – Political leadership must take responsibility. It starts with them coming to us, and then we will stand together and turn this around, says the KrF deputy leader. Eriksen points out that the Minister of Justice has kept the Storting informed over the past year by answering questions during Question Time. – If the Storting comes with a formal question, the minister comes with an answer in his own way, says the state secretary. – Not good enough At the same time, Eriksen says he shares the situation with the opposition. – We cannot settle down, if there is only one young person who goes missing and is exposed to criminal acts, that is not good enough, says the state secretary. – It is about asylum children being treated the same as minors who go missing. We are very aware that we must follow up on that job, says Eriksen.



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