Spain Repatriates Children Illegally, says Charity

Spain is repatriating child migrants without first checking it is safe for them to go home, charity Save the Children said on Wednesday.

On a drive to get tough with illegal immigration, Spain sent home 111 of nearly 4,000 unaccompanied child migrants in 2006, but Save the Children said the government often did not comply with international and local law.

"In the majority of cases they're not checking the circumstances of each child in their country of origin and repatriations are not respecting all legal guarantees," said Almudena Escorial of the charity.

A spokeswoman for Spain's immigration agency said the country was taking adequate measures to safeguard the rights of child immigrants, most of whom were between the ages of 14 and 17.

Illegal immigration became one of Spain's biggest political issues after more than 35,000 Africans desperate to find work in Europe arrived in the Canary Islands last year by boat.

Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero promotes legal migration to Spain, which has received a bigger influx of foreign workers than anywhere else in Europe this century, but he says all entering illegally must leave.

The flow of child repatriations could increase after a new Spanish deal with Morocco, origin of around 90 percent of child immigrants to Spain, to take a month to investigate each child and speed repatriations.

"The Morocco accord is to ensure children are repatriated with the greatest legal guarantees," the immigration agency spokeswoman said.

But Save the Children said a month was insufficient time to study a child's circumstances and ensure they are not sent back to hostile and dangerous situations.

Some repatriations have been condemned by Spain's justice system on grounds children were not given an adequate hearing.