The migration policy of the Kingdom of Morocco

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  • Migration governance in Morocco is centered around the National Strategy for Migration and Asylum (SNIA), initiated in 2013, and has consecrated solidarity and inclusive approach inscribed in the continuity of the eminently African vocation of Morocco.
  • The SNIA is an unprecedented initiative at the regional level. It has won both the African and the international recognition.
  • In doing so, the Kingdom of Morocco has streamlined its migration legal framework with its international commitments on migration, asylum and respect of human rights. This bold step has recently favored Morocco to be designated a “leader of migration in Africa”.
  • The SNIA has given impetus to two strong actions which have consolidated the continental dimension of migration, namely the African Migration Observatory, with headquarters in Morocco, and the African Migration Agenda.
  •  Within the framework of the SNIA, more than 50,000 nationals of brotherly and friendly African countries have regularized their situation and seen their administrative situation improved. 
  • Thanks to the flexible eligibility criteria, Morocco has favored vulnerable people and facilitated labor mobility, professional integration and family reunification. A policy that was highly welcomed by the African countries.
  • Thousands of sub-Saharans live in Morocco. More than 12,000 students have elected Moroccan Universities for their studies via the cooperation channel, 90% of whom are scholarship holders from the Kingdom of Morocco. All of them are fully integrated.
  • Documented persons have also benefited from a national integration plan that allows them full access to social, educational, medical and economic services.
  • The integration policy has allowed regularly established African nationals to be real incubators of a potential that enriches the vitality and the diversity of Moroccan society.
  • The humanist dimension of migration management in Morocco is also reflected in the voluntary returns that the country makes available to migrants who wish to return to their countries of origin in full respect of their rights and dignity.
  • Since 2018, more than 8,100 African nationals have benefited from these voluntary returns organized and financed by the Ministry of the Interior of Morocco.

The tragic migration event of the 24th July 2022

The migration incident that occurred in Mellilia, on Friday, June 24, 2022, has surprised more than one for the extreme violence the migrants used. During this attack, planned in a quasi-military manner, the assailants were armed with machetes, stones, knives and iron-bars to attack security forces.

  • The assault has resulted in the death of 23 migrants and 76 injured, 18 of whom are still hospitalized, the others having received the appropriate care and left the hospital. Similarly, 147 law enforcement officers were injured, 1 of whom is still hospitalized.
  • This violent operation was organized and carried out by international mafia networks which are engaged in smuggling and human trafficking by bringing in migrants from outside Morocco.
  • It is worth mentioning that more than 145 assaults have been repelled around the two enclaves of Sebta and Mellilia since 2016 and more than 1300 networks dismantled in the last 5 years.
  •  The Kingdom of Morocco, which deplores the violence perpetrated during this mass migration attempt and regrets the loss of lives that has resulted from it, remains determined to continue its fight against human trafficking networks and to strengthen cooperation with all partners within the framework of shared responsibility for better regional security.