Live, Rego appears before the Youth and Childhood Commission of Congress

According to the current state regulations, the Ministry of Youth and Childhood is the department of the General State Administration responsible for designing and executing the Government's policy on youth and child protection, with its own structure organized around a Secretariat of State and various management bodies and attached agencies.

Basic regulations governing it

The creation and general framework of the Ministry is established in Royal Decree 829/2023, of November 20, which restructures ministerial departments (BOE-A-2023-23537), later amended by Royal Decree 1230/2023, of December 29 (BOE-A-2023-26727). This regulation includes the Ministry of Youth and Childhood within the list of ministerial departments of the Government and sets its basic competency lines.

The detailed development of the basic organic structure of ministerial departments is contained in Royal Decree 1009/2023, of December 5 (and its subsequent amendments), although the consulted data did not recover the specific articles related to the Ministry of Youth and Childhood. However, from this regulation derives the existence of the superior and management bodies (Secretariat of State, Undersecretariat, General Directorates, etc.) responsible for exercising material competencies.

General competencies of the Ministry

The article related to the Ministry of Youth and Childhood in Royal Decree 829/2023, according to the extracted text, establishes two core ideas:

• General political function: "The Ministry of Youth and Childhood is responsible for the proposal and execution of the Government's policy on youth and child protection." That is, the Ministry assumes the political initiative (proposal of regulations, plans, strategies) and executive responsibility (deployment of programs and actions) in these areas.
• Superior structure: "This Ministry has, as a superior body, the Secretariat of State for Youth and Childhood." This Secretariat of State channels much of the substantive competencies, coordinating sectoral policies on youth, childhood, and adolescence.

Additionally, Royal Decree 829/2023 itself and its amendment by Royal Decree 1230/2023 foresee that public agencies are attached to the Ministry according to the material distribution of competencies established in these regulations and in the royal decrees of organic structure, so that entities specialized in youth form part of the department's functional perimeter.

Material areas of action

Based on recent specific provisions linked to the Ministry, several functional blocks can be identified in which this general competence is specified:

• Promotion of the rights of children and adolescents: Order JUI/80/2026, of January 29, regulating the State Council for Participation of Children and Adolescents (BOE-A-2026-3001) frames an institutional participation body for children and adolescents. This regulation reflects the Ministry's competence to articulate mechanisms for child and adolescent participation in public policies affecting them.
• Subsidy policy in childhood and youth matters: various orders, such as Order JUI/119/2025, of February 6 (BOE-A-2025-2414) or Order JUI/760/2025, of July 10 and its amendment by Order JUI/1530/2025, of December 18 (BOE-A-2025-14882, BOE-A-2025-26842), regulate the direct granting of subsidies in the field of childhood, adolescence, and youth to local entities, third sector entities, and other organizations. These regulations show the Ministry's role as a managing and regulating body of aid and support programs aimed at these groups, including actions in areas affected by emergencies (such as DANA episodes).
• Digital infrastructures and electronic administration: Order JUI/893/2024, of August 20, creating the associated electronic headquarters of the Ministry of Youth and Childhood (BOE-A-2024-17301), Order JUI/833/2024, of July 30, on the Ministry's Internet Portal (BOE-A-2024-16392), and Order JUI/29/2026, of January 14, on Information Security Policy (BOE-A-2026-1905), assign the Ministry functions of management of its electronic administration, digital services, and information security, as part of its internal operational competencies and public service.
• Administrative management and contracting: Order JUI/586/2024, of June 6, creating and regulating the Contracting Board in the Ministry of Youth and Childhood (BOE-A-2024-11964) and Order JUI/506/2024, of May 20, on limits for credit administration and delegation of competencies (BOE-A-2024-10857) regulate the economic-budgetary management and contracting of the department, which are typical functions of any ministerial structure.
• Attached agencies and actions of the Youth Institute: resolutions such as that of May 8, 2025, of the Youth Institute (BOE-A-2025-9730) or that of November 18, 2025, on its electronic headquarters (BOE-A-2025-23620) show that, within the organic attachment framework established by the royal decrees of structure, the Ministry exercises functions of direction, coordination, and oversight over the Youth Institute (INJUVE) and its services.

Functional summary

Overall, the legislation positions the Ministry of Youth and Childhood as the reference center for the state policy on youth and child protection, with the capacity to:

• Promote and execute regulations, plans, and strategies in youth, childhood, and adolescence matters.
• Manage and regulate subsidies and support programs aimed at these groups and the entities working with them.
• Organize the institutional participation of children, adolescents, and youth in public policies.
• Direct and coordinate public agencies specialized in youth attached to the department.
• Manage its own human, economic, contracting, and electronic administration resources, within the general framework established for all ministries.

All this is legally articulated based on Royal Decree 829/2023 and its amendments, the royal decree of the basic organic structure of ministerial departments, and the specific orders and resolutions issued by the department itself in the exercise of its competencies.

Sira Abed Rego is a leader of the Spanish left whose political and professional trajectory before entering the Government combines a strong connection with social movements, a long period of municipal politics in Rivas-Vaciamadrid, and a European projection as a Member of the European Parliament for Izquierda Unida. All this is built upon an identity marked by her family roots and training linked to the health field.

Origins and education

According to her institutional biography, Sira Rego was born in Valencia in 1973 and is trained as a nutritionist. Daughter of a Palestinian father and a Spanish mother, her personal trajectory is marked by an internationalist sensitivity closely linked to the Palestinian cause and the defense of human rights, an element that would later be reflected in much of her political activity.

Her initial professional profile is situated in the health and social field, from which she develops a perspective focused on the living conditions of the working classes and the protection of vulnerable groups. This combination of technical training and social commitment will be one of the traits accompanying her in her later stages in local government and the European Parliament.

Political militancy and social commitment

Before becoming minister, Rego was already a consolidated figure in the alternative left space. The basis of this trajectory is her militancy in Izquierda Unida (IU) and the Communist Party of Spain (PCE), as recorded in her summarized biography in the political actors database. Within this framework, she participates in political and social initiatives focused on defending public services, social rights, feminism, and environmentalism, with special attention to housing and the situation of children.

Her profile thus shapes as that of a leader who combines institutional action with a strong presence in social mobilization spaces and international solidarity campaigns, particularly with Palestine, which will become one of her hallmarks.

Municipal stage in Rivas-Vaciamadrid

A central pillar of Sira Rego's trajectory before her leap to the European sphere is her experience in the City Council of Rivas-Vaciamadrid, one of the main municipal strongholds of Izquierda Unida. The consulted institutional biography identifies her as councilor and first deputy mayor of this Madrid municipality.

In Rivas, she assumes local government responsibilities in a city known for its public housing policies and a strong left-wing presence. This stage allows her to accumulate management experience in areas related to public services, social cohesion, and urban planning, projecting her as one of IU's references in the municipal field.

Rego's later agenda as minister, closely linked to housing issues and youth emancipation, frequently refers to Rivas as an example of local policy, reinforcing the idea that her time at the City Council was decisive in building her political profile.

European projection: Member of the European Parliament for Izquierda Unida (2019-2023)

The other major block of her trajectory before becoming minister is her work as a Member of the European Parliament. The biographical record in the stakeholders database indicates that Sira Rego was a member of the European Parliament between 2019 and 2023, elected on the Izquierda Unida lists within the Spanish left candidacies to the European Parliament.

During this period, her work is framed within the European left group and revolves around defending social rights, fighting inequality, and denouncing austerity policies. Her activism in favor of Palestine and her critical stance towards certain European responses to international conflicts also gain relevance, lines she would later maintain from the Spanish Government.

Her experience in Brussels and Strasbourg consolidates her profile as a leader with a European vision, accustomed to working in multilateral negotiation spaces and interacting with community institutions and transnational civil society organizations.

Summary before appointment as minister

When in 2023 Izquierda Unida designates her to represent the organization in the coalition Government and she is appointed Minister of Youth and Childhood, Sira Rego arrives with a background that combines:

• Personal roots marked by a mixed Spanish-Palestinian identity and a professional trajectory as a nutritionist.
• Organic militancy in IU and the PCE, with a profile closely linked to feminism, defense of public services, and international solidarity.
• Municipal management in Rivas-Vaciamadrid as councilor and first deputy mayor, in a city council emblematic of the alternative left.
• European experience as a Member of the European Parliament between 2019 and 2023, from where she promoted social and human rights agendas at the community level.

This trajectory explains that, at the time of her entry into the Council of Ministers, Rego is perceived as a figure who combines management experience, international projection, and roots in social movements, key elements to understand her subsequent role leading the Ministry of Youth and Childhood.

The protection of an unaccompanied foreign minor in Ceuta is governed by the general state regulations (there is currently no specific legal regime for child protection exclusive to Ceuta), applied by the Autonomous City as the public entity competent in child protection matters. The normative pillars are Organic Law 4/2000 on Foreigners (LOEX), its Regulation (RD 557/2011), the 2014 Framework Protocol on unaccompanied foreign minors, and Organic Law 1/1996 on Legal Protection of Minors (LOPJM), as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

1. Who is an "unaccompanied foreign minor"

The Framework Protocol published by Resolution of October 13, 2014 (BOE-A-2014-10515) defines an unaccompanied foreign minor as a foreigner under 18 years old, national of a non-EU state, who arrives in Spanish territory without a legally or customarily responsible adult, with an observed risk of lack of protection. This definition is integrated with article 35 LOEX and articles 189 to 198 of its Regulation.

Therefore, the initial material requirements are:

• Under 18 years of age (or reasonable doubt about age, which requires verification).
• Foreign nationality from a third country (not subject to the EU regime).
• Absence of a responsible adult (without present and capable parents, guardians, or legal or de facto caretakers).
• Situation of risk or possible neglect, under the terms of the LOPJM.

2. Activation of protection in Ceuta

Once a minor is located in Ceuta, any authority, service, or entity that has contact with them must communicate it "as soon as possible" to the Foreigners and Borders Brigade, the Government Delegation, and the Public Prosecutor's Office, according to the Framework Protocol.

The police carry out a police record (fingerprints, photograph, identification data, and the center to which the minor is referred) and manage their registration in the Registry of Unaccompanied Foreign Minors (RMENA). If there are doubts about age, age determination tests provided in the Foreigners Regulation and Supreme Court doctrine are applied, under the control of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

At the same time, the Autonomous City of Ceuta, as the public entity for child protection, must:

• Assume immediate provisional custody of the minor (LOPJM).
• Assess the existence of a neglect situation (absence or inability of parents to take charge, serious risk, etc.).
• If neglect is found, assume legal guardianship by operation of law and arrange for the minor's admission to a protection resource (center or foster care).

3. Core legal requirements

From the LOPJM and the Framework Protocol, the essential requirements for the minor to receive protection in Ceuta are:

• Mandatory detection and communication of any risk or possible neglect situation to the competent authorities.
• Investigation of the situation by the public child protection entity, with an obligation to intervene to correct the neglect.
• Declaration of neglect when the severity of the facts advises separating the minor from their environment, which entails:
  • Automatic assumption of guardianship by the City of Ceuta.
  • Suspension of parental authority or ordinary guardianship while the measure lasts.
• Information to the minor, in a language they understand, about their rights and the administrative situation they are in.
• Respect for the best interests of the minor as the guiding criterion for all decisions (content developed in the LOPJM and Organic Law 8/2021, on protection against violence).

4. Distribution of competencies between the State and the City of Ceuta

The Constitution reserves exclusive competence to the State in immigration (art. 149.1.2.ª CE), which includes the legal regime of foreigners, residence authorizations, state registries, and international agreements (for example, the Agreement with Morocco on unaccompanied minors, BOE-A-2013-3140).

In contrast, child protection (detection of neglect, guardianship, foster care, residential resources) corresponds to the autonomous communities and, in this case, to the City of Ceuta as the competent public entity. It assumes guardianship of unaccompanied minors in its territory and manages their care and reception.

The State financially supports part of this effort through specific subsidies, such as Royal Decree 881/2021, to transfer minors from Ceuta to other autonomous communities (BOE-A-2021-16480) and Royal Decree 767/2022, which regulates direct aid to the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla for the care and reception of unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents (BOE-A-2022-15360).

In summary, the concurrence of minority, foreign nationality, absence of a responsible adult, and a situation of risk or neglect is sufficient for the City of Ceuta to be legally obliged to assume the immediate custody and, if applicable, guardianship of the unaccompanied minor, in coordination with the General State Administration in all matters related to foreigners and return, always under the principle of the best interests of the minor.