New report examines Moroccan migrant rights record
2009-03-27
The Moroccan government has mistreated illegal immigrants, said a group defending the rights of migrants. "Morocco is a civilised country," replied the government spokesman.
By Naoufel Cherkaoui for Magharebia in Rabat – 27/03/09
 [File] Government spokesman Khalid Naciri says Morocco does not mistreat illegal migrants. |
A Moroccan advocacy group brought the Moroccan government under scrutiny recently for its treatment of illegal immigrants, accusing the state of violating their human rights. The report, issued March 20th, compares Morocco's record to a UN convention on migrant rights.
Government spokesman Khaled Naciri denied the accusations in remarks given Wednesday (March 25th). "A single incident was reported a few months ago about Moroccan soldiers attempting to drown a boat of... migrants," he said, "which soon turned out to be baseless because Morocco's enemy could not come up with a shred of evidence to prove it."
"Morocco is a civilised country and does not kill migrants as some allege," he concluded.
The report was prepared by the Anti-racist Group Assisting and Defending Foreigners and Migrants (GADEM) to bring suspected human rights violations by Morocco to light. In the document, GADEM studies the local and international legal aspects of migration, and includes testimonies from migrants who claim their personal safety was violated by Moroccan authorities.
According to GADEM chief Hicham Rachidi, the report "relied on the minutes of the royal gendarmerie and the police, judicial sentences in a number of Moroccan courts, as well as testimonies accusing Moroccan authorities of being involved in instances of killing with firearms, boat drowning and deportation to the desert, in addition to cases of battery and dispossession in police stations."
One such account concerns an event in July 2007 in which a boat belonging to the Moroccan navy approached a disabled boat to rescue 37 migrants on board. According to the testimony, the navy threw ropes over to the other vessel but cut them without warning. The boat subsequently crashed, and 17 people drowned.
Rachidi did praise the government for ending practices such as mass arrests, violence during raids and deportation of women. "Nevertheless, we believe this is inadequate and that Morocco has to exert more effort to ensure migrants' rights, through harmonising Moroccan regulations with international law."
Mourad El Kalkha, an attorney specialising in migration, noted, "The most important remark in the report is that Morocco violates the law [governing] the process of deportation to the borders, since it is unfair to illegal migrants."
He told Magharebia that Morocco must reform laws that conflict with international agreements ratified by the kingdom, but acknowledged the complexity of such changes.
"Moroccan immigration law stipulates passing regulations for shelters, which have not seen light so far," El Kalkha said. "On the one hand, establishing such shelters is against international conventions, but on the other, their absence aggravates migrants' suffering."
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acharif moulay abdellah bouskraoui Posted 2009-03-27
May praise be to God alone! Unfortunately, some so-called human-rights “defenders” want to put their false accusations in the limelight, believing that with their lies they can put pressure on the state in order to benefit certain privileged people just like when the late Basri was alive. Some of them thought that Morocco was being pressured by foreigners. So, I tell these individuals that, personally, we are a strong, sovereign state, above all pressures and threats. If we have engaged in the process of democratising our institutions, then it is by our own will. And now we are a state of law. We are the ones who give lessons to others. Morocco is a state of law and it does not kill migrants as some pretend it does. I dare anyone to prove the opposite. So, game over for your alleged human rights: we are above any suspicions and any pressures. If someone wants to get privileges, then they ought to just look somewhere else.
خليل وصفي الحاج درويش Posted 2009-03-28
I saw one of the Africans who were unable to reach the shore of Spain on boats on one of the pages of the internet in a big room and in front of him a big dish of rice, a slice of meat and a banana. Blessed be God. These people should consider matters realistically and understand that the road to Spain is not covered with flowers. They must respect Morocco which opened its heart and arms to receive them.
Achraf Posted 2009-04-02
Allow me to tell you, Mr Moulay Acharif, that without civil society, organisations and unions, the era of the late Basri would have never passed. Moreover, the ones who benefitted the most from this era now hold the key posts in the Cherifien Kingdom. And, before going into detail and accusing the honourable militants who risked their lives and their livelihood to denounce such abuse, it would be better for you to think a bit and to do a little research with that famous search engine “Google”, which facilitates finding information nowadays. We do not need your false accusations: we had enough of them with the ones you made against those whom you call human rights defenders and accused of searching for the limelight or - I don’t know - already being in the limelight according to you. Everyone in the free press, which is not the press that you and I know, the NGOs and so on has been denouncing what has been going on the land and water borders and in the forests and mountains and wherever else you can think of since the beginning of the 21st Century. Do not come to me today and talk about a “state of law and democracy and freedom”! Is this perhaps out of your own personal motivations!?! Even here in Europe those terms do not exist. And, if they do exist, then I have not encountered them because they are not free from the abuse of the police and state apparatus. And, if our brave militants are speaking out today, then it is thanks to the sacrifices made by their predecessors, who now reside in cemeteries. (“Morocco is a state of law and it does not kill migrants as some pretend it does. I dare anyone to prove the opposite.”) The above had a little bit of luck because some of them knew nothing about what to expect or that the Malek Almawt, the Angel of Death Azrael was coming.
Rachidi Posted 2009-05-01
Greetings to all the members of this honourable forum- I am the militant cited by Magharebia.com. I respect all the points of views expressed here, including those refuting the results of our research and investigations. I would just like to explain that the Moroccan authorities officially recognise the death of several migrants, particularly during the events in Ceuta and Melilla and during the unfortunate accident in El Hoceima cited in this article. But, beyond the obvious, my friends and I at GADEM work and live in Morocco. The Moroccan authorities know our addresses and the place we frequent quite will. So, it is very easy for them to come arrest us and accuse us of slander or high treason should the facts we describe or the evidence we offer be fabricated or encouraged by the enemies of our country. Through this message I would also like to emphasise the atmosphere of freedom in which we have been able to work for a few years now. But, as was pointed out by a commenter, we owe this freedom to the pioneers in fight for democracy, who dearly in blood so that we could act according to our conviction and express ourselves freely. -Sincerely
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