The issue of creating a space to host unaccompanied children in Zygi has again come to the fore today, with the protest meeting organized by a section of local residents who prevented the Public Works crew from recording the needs of the camp site for that purpose.

The reaction of the President of the Local Community a few months ago that she hadn’t been briefed by the relevant authorities and her opposition, highlighting her the interest of her community concerned public concern and had provoked fierce reactions. Although so many months have passed since then, unfortunately, the relevant authorities of the state have failed to find a solution with the local community, even though another Municipality has offered to accommodate these children. The result is that today we see these reactions from a section of the local society of Zygi.

As AKEL, we reject these worrying xenophobic behaviours.

We call on the government to deal first and foremost with the safety and protection of these children by choosing an area that is suitable for them and that will embrace them and not to stigmatize them in an already hostile environment.

We also call on the Commissioner for Children’s Rights to act immediately to resolve the issue and the Human Rights Committee to discuss the issue which we have tabled for discussion as AKEL.