Strasbourg, 26 October 2005 Regional Conference on Migration of unaccompanied minors: acting in the best interests of the child Hotel Meliá Costa del Sol Torremolinos, Málaga (Spain), 27 and 28 October 2005 DRAFT PROGRAMME Eve of Day One 26 October 2005 Arrival of participants 9.00 pm Welcome drink offered by Ms Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, in Hotel Meliá Costa del Sol, Torremolinos, Malaga. Day One - 27 October 2005 9.00 9.30 am Registration of participants 9.00 11.00 am Opening session 9.30 10.00 am Opening of the Conference by: Ms Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Ms Amparo Marzal Martínez, Director General of Family and Childhood, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs Mr Joaquim Duarte, Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe Mr Ed van Thijn, Member of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
2 Ms Micaela Navarro Garzón, Adviser on Equality and on social well-being from Autonomous Regional Government of Andalusia Ms Consuelo Rumí, Secretary of State for Immigration and Emigration, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Spain 10.00 10.45 Keynote speech: Mr George Moschos, Children s Ombudsman (Greece) 10.45 11.00 am Coffee break 11.00 4.30 pm Session 1: Main characteristics of migration of unaccompanied minors five case studies Chair: Mrs Marta Rodriguez-Tarduchy, Director General of Immigration (MTAS) 11.10-2.00 pm Case studies Situation of unaccompanied migrants in Morocco, by Ms Najat M'Jid, Chair of the BAYTI Association, Morocco Situation of unaccompanied migrants in Spain, by par Mme Rosa María Bravo Rodríguez, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Spain Situation of unaccompanied migrants in the United Kingdom, by Dr Eugenia M Markova, Research Fellow, Sussex Centre for Migration Research of the University of Sussex, United Kingdom Situation of unaccompanied migrants in France, by Ms Elizabeth Johnston, Deputy Director, European Forum for Urban Safety, France Situation of unaccompanied migrants in Switzerland, by Mr Sylvain Vité, NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Switzerland 2.00 3.30 pm Lunch break
3 3.30 4.30 pm Debate Introduction to the debate Identification of issues and current and future trends in migration of unaccompanied minors Summary report of the 5 case studies, by Ms Najat M'Jid, Marocco, General Rapporteur of the Conference 4.30 4.45 pm Coffee break 4.45 6.30 pm Session 2: Reception of unaccompanied minors experiences of some countries Chair: Ms Estrella Rodríguez Pardo, Director General Ministry of Integration of Immigrants (MTAS) Reception of unaccompanied minors in Belgium: general trends and socio-economic profiles, with particular reference to minors from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, by Ms Ching Lin Pang, Deputy Head of the Migration Department, Centre for Equal Opportunities and the fight against Racism, Belgium Reception of unaccompanied minors in Hungary, by Mrs Renáta Rakaczki, Hungary Reception of unaccompanied minors in Italy, by Mrs. Roberta Medda-Windischer, LL.M (Essex), Researcher, Institute for Minority Rights, European Academy Bozen/Bolzano. 5.45 6.30 pm Debate Day Two 28 October 2005 9.15 9.45 am Unaccompanied migrant children : what they think? Interviews with children in France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Morocco, by Ms Imogen Lamb, reporter, Radio France Internationale, France 9.45 10.15 am Debate 10.15 10.30 am Coffee break
4 10.30 12.30pm Session 3: Managing migration of unaccompanied minors in the best interests of the child 10.30 11.00 am Keynote speech: Ms Nezha Chekrouni, Minister responsible for Migration, Morocco 11.00 12.00 am Looking for Solutions: Sharing responsibility boosting co-operation between countries of destination and origin at all levels, by Mr Michel Villan, Chair of the European Committee on Migration (CDMG), Council of Europe Effective respect of the fundamental rights of unaccompanied migrant minors - the findings of the Commissioner for Human Rights, by Mr. Manuel Lezertua, Director, Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights European Union policy on migration of unaccompanied minors, by Mrs Annick GOEMINNE, European Commission Unaccompanied Minors and asylum procedures: prospects for UNHCR by Mrs Margarita de la Rasilla, Legal Advisor and focal point on separated minors Representatives of non-member countries: Mr Théophile MBEMBA FUNDU, Democratic Republic of the Congo Mrs Eufrazina Maiato, Angola 12.00 12.30 am Debate 12.30 1.15 pm Sesion 4 Integration: models of intervention Life plans for unaccompanied minors and co-operation between countries of origin, transit and destination, by Mrs Carmen Belinchón Sánchez, Director General of Childhood and the Family of Autonomous Regional Government of Andalusia.
5 1.15 2.00 pm Closing session Presentation of the General Rapporteur's Conclusions, by Ms Najat M'Jid, Chair of the BAYTI Association, Morocco Closing remarks by: Mr Alexander Vladychenko, Director General of Social Cohesion (DGIII), Council of Europe Presentation of the Final Communiqué 2.00 2.30 pm Press Conference