Thursday, September 12, 2013

Blog 1: Morocco Unveils New Immigration Policy after Criticism




Blog 1: Morocco Unveils new migration policy after criticism

On Wednesday this week it was reported that Morocco has announced a new immigration policy as it has recently come under intense criticism over the treatment of illegal migrants involving violence. They have pledged to review specific cases based on the requirements of immigration after it has been reported that there has been mistreatment of sub-Saharan migrants. It was known that three days prior to this announcement the Moroccan National Human Rights Council had called for a review of the asylum policies.
Morocco is currently a key smuggling port for migrants seeking to reach Europe as it is situated 15kms (9miles) from Spain, it is separated by the Strait of Gibraltar which makes a perfect opportunity for boats to go across the Strait. 

In the past couple of months it has been predicted that roughly 20000 sub-Saharan illegal migrants are residing in Morocco which has seen them fall victim to racist violence. King Mohamed VI has come back with the statement that he has “legitimate concerns” over the mistreatment of the immigrants.
There have been reports of racist violence which saw in July this year, a Congolese University professor pushed off a bus by an officer to the Algerian border where he was reported to have died. In August this year, it was also reported that a Senegalese man was stabbed to death at the central bus station in Rabat. These are just a few examples of the tragedies that are occurring in Morocco.

This latest announcement about the change in policy has the aim of processing requests “in line with international standards and respectful of the Kingdoms commitments to promote and protect human rights”. The Moroccan government whilst they still want to improve the situation they find themselves in, they still want to crack down on trafficking and are seeking Europe’s concrete commitment to support the policy.
In this day and age, our world has become smaller; people are moving all over the place. The fact that we have this article telling us that all the way over in Africa there is racist violence occurring is quite sad and depressing hearing the reports of these attacks. It is a positive that the government has pledged to improve this but it is definitely a dark day on humanity when officials are attacking people who are seeking help. The more awareness about this massive injustice the better we can improve the human rights around the world.

James Dougherty
9/12/13
5:50pm

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