By Edmund Mingle
The government of Morocco says it is
refocusing its immigration policy to tolerate the increasing migration to that
country, and to uphold respect for the human rights of immigrants.
The move, which comes in the wake of
the increasing numbers of immigrants, mostly from Sub-Saharan Africa, into
Morocco, is to ensure that the migrants are treated fairly in accordance with
international human right treaties.
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| King Mohammed VI of Morocco |
According to Mrs. Nesha Alaoui M’Hammdi, the Moroccan Ambassador to Ghana, the initiative was part of efforts
to strengthen bilateral co-operation with other African countries.
She explained that statistics on
immigration in Morocco had shown that the migrant population from sub-Saharan
African countries has quadrupled, and that Morocco is also experiencing a new
form of immigration from countries such as Spain, France and other European
countries
as a result of the global economic
crisis.
“The combination of these
diversified forms of migration makes Morocco, gradually and irreversibly, a
cosmopolitan country. The regular and irregular emigration of Moroccans and the
growing visibility of new populations of emigrants in Moroccan cities,
undoubtedly attest to the fact that Morocco is concerned by the globalization
of human mobility,” she said.
A policy statement on the new focus
of that country’s foreign immigration policy, said Morocco, which has
demonstrated its ability to manage the most difficult political transitions,
has become a land of asylum and long-term settlement for migrants. It welcomes
regular immigrant workers, a relatively large number of foreign students,
migrants with an irregular status, “in transit” often for years, an asylum
seekers and refugees.
This fact has been clearly
highlighted by His Majesty the King Mohammed VI of Morocco, who has called for
a new approach to meet the new challenges of immigration and immigrant rights.
As part of the policy, a number of
new measures would be taken. These include “the establishment of a policy of
integration of refugees and their families, in terms of housing, health,
schooling, training and employment; to allow married statutory refugees to
proceed legally to family reunification; to ensure compliance with the
principle of prohibition of expulsion or return (nonrefoulement) as a
cornerstone of the right of the refugees, as mentioned in article 33 of the
1951 Geneva Convention by giving potential asylum-seekers the right to fill
out, upon their arrival on Moroccan territory, an asylum application; and to
establish a national legal and institutional framework of asylum, which is
based on the principles set out in the preamble of the 2011 Moroccan
constitution, and which organizes the status of refugees in Morocco and the
conditions for the exercise of the right of asylum recognized in article 30 of
the constitution.”
Further,
“the government will officially consider the development and establishment of
an operation of special regularization of some categories of migrants in
irregular administrative situations, according to criteria that take into
account the duration of stay in Morocco, the right to family co-residence, the
conditions for insertion in Moroccan society, the settlement agreements reached
by the Kingdom with other partners (international organizations of the United
Nations system, partner countries of Morocco, including European countries and
the European Union).”
Under the new focus, the Moroccan
government would also ban all forms of violence against undocumented migrants
during arrest procedures; take measures to discourage employers who exploit
undocumented migrants, and guarantee access to labor inspectors without fear of
retribution; and facilitate the registration of new births and issuing of death
certificates.
With
regard to fighting human trafficking, the statement said the government plans
to develop, in a collaborative manner, a national plan of action to combat
human trafficking and strengthen the capacity of law enforcement agencies in
their fight against human trafficking, while improving on partnership with
organizations against human trafficking and for the protection of victims of
abuse.
Reacting to the new policy,
The United Nations Office in Morocco applauded the interest shown by Morocco’s
National Council for Human Rights (CNDH) to respect the human rights of
foreigners in the Kingdom and the scope of its recommendations in that regard,
A UN statement in Morocco said it has
noted the publication of a report on the human rights situation of foreigners
in Morocco, particularly refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. "
Agencies of the United Nations in
Morocco, including the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the
International Organization for Migration (IOM) reiterated the Moroccan
authorities " their willingness to support national efforts to ensure that
refugees, asylum seekers and migrants a home up to the humanistic traditions of
the Kingdom and the requirements of national and international legal framework
, " the statement concluded.
END
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