– Safeguarding children’s rights is very important, says Justice and Emergency Services Minister Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) to news. On Thursday, he had to appear in the Storting to answer a series of questions. Several parties are concerned after the revelation in December that the police rarely or never look when asylum-seeking children disappear from reception and care centres. The entire Storting was shocked that 432 asylum children have disappeared since 2015, and still have an unknown whereabouts. Before Christmas, several parties demanded answers to what had happened, and were not satisfied with the answers they received. Mehl now says that she takes the findings “very seriously”. – news has revealed that many children disappear from reception, and we see that there may be reason to carry out investigations. I am glad that it will come to light if there may be a reason why something has been done wrong, she says. Challenge to investigate disappearances Lan Marie Berg (MDG) initiated the so-called interpellation debate on Thursday. She wanted to know if the minister will launch an investigation into what has happened to the missing asylum children. Mehl is not ready yet. She points out that the Police Directorate has not managed to analyze the answers they have received from the police districts, after the review they launched together with the police districts at the beginning of December. Minister of Justice Emilie Mehl (Sp) Photo: Silje Rognsvåg / news Nevertheless, the minister lifted the veil a little on what has so far been received in response: The police district believes that the routines have been followed for missing persons cases with single minor asylum seekers. At the same time, the way in which the districts have extracted figures varies. – A closer review of the registrations of missing persons in the Nordland police district showed that 93 cases had been registered, and not 15 as previously disclosed to the media, Mehl said from the podium. There are still 24 cases missing, compared with the number of missing cases UDI has informed news that they have in their registers from the same area. Missing information on asylum children The Minister of Justice will be careful about drawing the conclusion that the police generally treat cases involving Norwegian children and unaccompanied minor asylum seekers differently. – But it is important that there is a high level of attention to this both at the police, UDI and Kripos, she says to news. Furthermore, she points out that cases involving asylum seekers can be more demanding to investigate. The reason is that there may be a lack of information about identity and place of residence. In addition, they often have neither mobile phone nor bank card to trace. – I don’t think there is any immediate solution that will make these statistics go away completely, but it is important that we are able to catch the cases where children may be exposed to criminal acts, says Mehl. Proposes leaving asylum children to child welfare services One solution to prevent disappearances from reception could be to let child welfare services take over the care of asylum children between the ages of 15 and 18. Raudt, SV, KrF and MDG challenged the minister on Thursday. Today, asylum children over the age of 15 live in their own asylum reception center under the auspices of the UDI, while those under the age of 15 live in a care center under the auspices of child protection. The UN has criticized Norway several times for this divide, which in practice means big differences in staffing and children’s expertise. The differences in child welfare expertise and staffing Child welfare expertise Care centres: All employees must have relevant education at a minimum bachelor’s level, as a result of the new child welfare reform from 1 January 2022. The reform also entails a requirement that employees in management positions must have child welfare expertise or another relevant master’s degree by 2031 Asylum reception for unaccompanied minors: Here there is only a requirement to have three specialists with relevant children’s education at university level. In addition, they must have one member of staff who is a trained child welfare pedagogue. Staffing Care centres: The Directorate for Children, Youth and Families (BUFDIR) informs news that there is normally one adult at work for every three children. Up to 9 children can live in each ward. Asylum reception for unaccompanied minors: Here there must be a minimum of two employees present 24 hours a day, shows the latest edition of the circular to the UDI on the operation of the reception. The UDI informs news that there are usually more employees during the day. Among the reception centers that are in operation today, up to 42 young people can live in each department. The practice of treating the youngest and oldest asylum children differently has been going on in Norway since 2008. The Stoltenberg government then promised that the responsibility for single asylum seekers between the ages of 15 and 18 would also be transferred to child protection in the long term. It’s almost fifteen years ago now. The change of responsibility was never carried out. Instead, it was legislated in April 2021 that the UDI should continue to be responsible for single minor asylum seekers between the ages of 15 and 18. Mehl says she does not want to take the initiative to change the current arrangement with two divisions now. She points to the fact that more people with child specialist expertise have been added to reception recently. In addition, the government introduced in 2022 that the State Administrator must supervise the reception where the oldest asylum children live. – I think we have a good solution today, says the minister. – Clear violation of human rights Not everyone agrees. Kirsten Kolstad Kvalø, senior advisor at the Norwegian Institute for Human Rights (NIM). Photo: Charlotte Førde Skomsøy – It is one of the most explicit and clear human rights violations we have in Norway, says Kirsten Kolstad Kvalø, senior adviser at the Norwegian Institute for Human Rights (NIM). Camilla Scharffscher Engeseth in Save the Children. Photo: Redd Barna Camilla Scharffscher Engeseth from Redd Barna believes that a good care offer can contribute to children experiencing a greater degree of security and predictability. – Follow-up by safe adults whom the children can trust increases the possibility that the children will give notice if, for example, they are exposed, or at risk of being exposed, to exploitation such as human trafficking, says Engeseth. Come up with a bill The four parties that grilled the minister on Thursday are not entirely satisfied with the answer the minister comes up with. – I think it is disappointing and a bit awkward from the Minister of Justice. I expect that there will be clear measures in the future, and we will follow that up, says MDG’s Lan Marie Berg. She announces a new bill to the Storting on both investigations and child protection. From the left, Kjell Ingolf Ropstad (KrF), Lan Marie Berg (MDG), Grete Wold (SV) and Tobias Drevland Lund (R) are dissatisfied with the minister’s answer. Photo: Silje Rognsvåg / news
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The Minister of Justice had to answer the Storting about the disappearances of asylum children – news Vestland
