An administrative chamber in Spain's Supreme Court has ordered the Spanish central government to take charge of 1,000 unaccompanied migrant minors who have requested asylum and are currently under the responsibility of child protection services in the Canary Islands.

The government will have to comply with the order within 10 days.

The court's order, which has been reviewed by InfoMigrants' partner ANSA, is based on the acceptance of a precautionary measure requested by the Canary Islands' regional authoritiy which asked for help in what it has deemed an "emergency situation" in the archipelago, where authorities are struggling to house around 5,000 migrant minors in inadequate and already overcrowded facilities.

Over the next ten days, the court has also asked to be informed about the measures that will be taken in this regard and said that once this time limit has passed, it will decide on whether to hold a public hearing on the compliance with the measures.

Request of regional government

The court stressed that the precautionary measure had been requested by the government of the islands, which had previously asked the central government to do the same.

After having analyzed the central and regional jurisdictions, the Supreme Court ruled that the State Administration must "guarantee access to and permanence in the National Reception System for International Protection for those minors currently under the care of the child protection services of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands, who have requested international protection or have expressed their willingness to request it."

It noted that the effective implementation of this ruling is necessary due to the overcrowding which the children are currently suffering from and which is clearly not in their best interests.