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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Culture & Society

Spanish government takes control of Ceuta port to house migrants

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Spain’s Transport Ministry ordered the temporary takeover of Ceuta’s port and authorized tents on 16,000 square meters of port land for more than 1,000 migrants still in the city.
  • The move followed the port authority’s rejection of a request to install the shelters after tens of thousands of migrants crossed from Morocco in late July.
  • Estimates of the remaining migrant population range from 5,000, according to the national government, to as many as 20,000 cited by nongovernmental organizations.

Spain’s government has taken control of the port of Ceuta and authorized the installation of tents for more than 1,000 migrants who remain in the North African city after crossing from Morocco in late July.

Transport Minister Óscar Puente signed the order under Article 73.3 of Spain’s Ports and Merchant Marine law. The measure allows tents and other temporary facilities to occupy 16,000 square meters of public port land. The planned site will include rest areas, a medical unit and dispensary, social assistance facilities, and sanitary services.

The decision came after Ceuta’s port authority, controlled by the autonomous city, voted against the installation on Friday. The State Secretariat for Migration had requested the temporary facilities so that the Directorate-General for Humanitarian Assistance and the International Protection Reception System could carry out its legally assigned duties.

the installation of the temporary elements necessary to carry out the functions legally assigned to the Directorate-General for Humanitarian Assistance and the International Protection Reception System

· Spanish State Secretariat for MigrationThe request cited in the government order sought authorization for temporary migrant reception facilities.

Transport Ministry sources said the exceptional situation prompted the ministry to assume control and approve the use of part of the port’s service area, which is already open to the city. The order comes after the mass arrival of tens of thousands of migrants on July 30 and 31. Many returned voluntarily to their countries of origin, but several thousand remain in Ceuta. Some live in makeshift shelters they built on the beach, while others are scattered across outlying neighborhoods.

The exact number remains disputed. Spain’s central government put the figure at 5,000 at the end of August. Ceuta’s government said on September 1 that between 8,000 and 9,000 remained, while some nongovernmental organizations estimated the number at up to 20,000. Police have also transferred 1,500 minors who crossed during the July influx to the Ceuta government, which is housing them in centers opened during the migration crisis. NGOs No Name Kitchen and Asociación Elín accused the government of inhumane treatment of migrants still in the city.

the occupation will be carried out through the provisional installation of tents and other spaces designated as a rest area, medical unit and dispensary, as well as areas for social assistance and intervention or sanitary services

· Spanish government orderThe order describes the facilities authorized at Ceuta’s port.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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