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– We do not want children from Afghanistan who we know do not meet the asylum conditions, says Hans Fredrik Grøvan, KrF parliamentary leader.
After tough negotiations, the ruling Conservative, Christian Democrat and Liberal parties agreed in May that Norway will bring an indefinite number of children from Greek camps. The premise was that between 8 and 10 EU countries would do it first.
Hans Fredrik Grøvan says that “KrF has a clear expectation that it can happen in a short time”, without being able to say how many days or weeks it is.
– We have received confirmation that seven countries have started relocating and that the eighth country is imminent. Therefore, we should be able to begin our preparations for the selection of who will come, the number and the receiving apparatus in Norway, he says.
The situation, especially for the children of Moria and other camps, is characterized by alternating hot and cold, lack of school, food, medical aid and an uncertain future.
According to UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, children live in poverty and are at risk of violence and trafficking. 93 percent of the children are boys.
92 percent of children are between 14 and 18 years old. Most are from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria. More than 100 Norwegian municipalities have said they are willing to accept Moria children.
Seven countries have received Moria children
So far, six EU countries have received children from Greek camps: Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Portugal.
In addition, Ireland has also received children, but this is in accordance with a previous agreement.
So the number of countries is six or seven, depending on whether you count Ireland or not. In addition, the following five EU countries have said that they will accept children, but without the children having arrived yet: Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Slovakia.
– I don’t want young boys from Afghanistan
Among the refugees in the Greek camps, there are many who do not meet the requirements to be defined as refugees and asylum seekers with the right to reside.
Hans Fredrik Grøvan says they don’t want to accept migrants who later turn out to have no right to stay. Then, according to the rules, they must be sent back to their country of origin.
– We do not want children from Afghanistan that we know do not meet the conditions. For this reason, the government and we have been concerned about obtaining as asylum seekers people who meet the residence criteria, that is, who are fugitives, persecuted or come from land warfare.
– There are unaccompanied minor children and families. There must be people who meet the criteria for permanent residence in Norway, says Grøvan.
Greece asked Norway to accept 150 children
A person is called an asylum seeker when he has applied for protection (asylum) in Norway. If they receive a positive response to the application, they will receive a residence permit as a refugee or for humanitarian reasons.
If they receive a final rejection of the application, they must leave Norway, according to the UDI website.
Last fall, the Greek government asked Norway to accept 150 children. The then Justice Minister Jøran Kallmyr replied that “after a thorough evaluation of your application, Norway has concluded that we will not currently be involved in the relocation of migrants.”
UNHCR has previously written letters to the government asking Norway to accept unaccompanied children.
– How many children should Norway accept?
– We haven’t specified a number. But the number of unaccompanied minors in Greece is very high, 4558 per. July 30 this year, says UNHCR spokesman Mattias Sundholm.
Grøvan will not say how many children Norway will receive. But it should be “in proportion” to the number that other countries receive, according to the KrF parliamentary leader.
– Has it taken a long time?
– We might as well wish it had happened earlier. But there was no majority in the Storting for the relocation, so we are glad that the government made the decision despite opposition from the majority in the Storting.
– I hope this will also push Sweden and Denmark to do what Norway does, and take responsibility which we think is natural to remedy the Greek authorities, says Grøvan.
Secretary of State Hilde Barstad at the Justice Ministry says that “a decision has not yet been made on how the relocation-related process will be carried out.”
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