Minister orders investigation of detention center at Lisbon airport

The Minister of Internal Administration has decided to conduct an investigation into the functioning of the equipped space at the Temporary Installation Center (CIT) at Lisbon's Humberto Delgado Airport, where persons to whom (SEF), the preparation of an urgent report on the respect of the recommendations of the Office of the Ombudsman

The inquiry request follows a news of the Sunday newspaper Público, which reports that the SEF has kept asylum seekers' children at the Lisbon airport, placing Portugal in violation of the international rules on the rights of the child as defined by the UN

In a note sent to the media, Eduardo Cabrita met Monday with the Justice Department and the National Director of the Borders and to analyze the operation of the CIT, which the government guarantees to comply with the law and respect the "rights of the "Man," as well as "judic decisions applicable.

The newspaper, which visited the CIT Lisbon, found a 3-year-old sleeping on a mattress next to her mother's bed for a month and a half in a room that could accommodate 16 people.

In the clarification sent to the editorial offices, the SEF explains that "two adults were traveling with a child, all undocumented, and adults did not show proof of the true identity or minor, as well as the relationship parentage relied on ". They add that "the application for asylum was not admitted for lack of legal basis".

According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Portugal, the detention of a child under the age of 18 was the subject of judicial review, which automatically has a suspensive effect and is therefore maintained in the IFA.

The law provides that asylum seekers in Portugal, accompanied or not, must be returned to the Refugee Home for Refugee Children (CACR) Council [196459002] However, the Public ] the Portuguese Refugee Council, reveals that the SEF has often violated these rules for two years. The waiting period for these children in the Temporary Accommodation Center (CIT) has gone from a few days to a few weeks, according to the same organization.