Justice system bars shelters for children and adolescents in Roraima
According to organisations, this decision could put young people in an even more vulnerable situation
Agencia Brasil
Boa Vista AC 04 05 2018 Venezuelan refugees in a provisional shelter in Boa Vista.Marcelo Camargo/Agencia Brasil
The Roraima Justice system has barred two shelters for children and adolescents who do not have legal guardians, forbidding them from taking in new minors due to overcrowding in these institutions.
This decision, published on the 13th day of this month, was taken by the juvenile court judge at the 2nd Youth Court, known as the TJRR (Roraima Court of Justice), Marcelo Lima de Oliveira, and cites an increase in the number of young Venezuelans crossing the border every day as being one of the main causes of overcrowding at the units.
A civil action lodged by the Public Prosecutor for Juvenile Justice, known as the MPRR (Roraima Public Prosecutor’s Office) had requested the veto be limited to Venezuelan adolescents who should instead be sent to the shelters at Operação Acolhida (Reception Service). However, the judge did not adopt the request and determined that all adolescents would be barred, irrespective of nationality.
In addition to barring entry to shelters, the decision also set a deadline of ten days for the state government to put together a contingency plan and to find solutions, along with civil society.
Conectas and another 26 organisations dedicated to human rights and migration sent an official letter to the state government requesting a hearing to discuss the situation of the Venezuelan children and adolescents who are arriving in Roraima, unaccompanied by guardians.
In the document, institutions stress that one of the immediate consequences of this measure will be a deterioration in the already vulnerable conditions of these young migrants. They say that sending them to the Operação Acolhida camps is problematic because as well as not having the expertise to deal with this group of people, the service also has temporary facilities and is facing overcrowding.
The organisations are requesting a meeting to be held between the 23rd and 27th days of this month, given the deadline of ten days set by the judge.
