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Morocco: Violence against Migrants
AfricaFocus Bulletin
Apr 26, 2013 (130426)
(Reposted from sources cited below)
Editor's Note
"The renewed cooperation efforts between Morocco and
Spain which, according to these countries, are focused on
the fight against cross-border crime, illegal migration
and drug trafficking. are having a serious impact on the
physical and mental health of sub-Saharan migrants.
Migration policies privilege internal security criteria
over respect for fundamental human rights." - David
Cantero, Head of Mission in Morocco for Doctors Without
Borders (MSF).
In today's world, the simple distinction between
"destination countries" and "origin countries" for
migration is much too simple. The presence of Moroccan
immigrants in Europe, for example, is long-standing and
multigenerational, making up part of what researcher Hein
de Haas describes as an established a "migration system."
But Morocco is also a destination country for immigrants
from sub-Saharan Africa as well as, for some, a transit
country on the way to Europe.
Whatever their actual or intended destination, "irregular
migrants" in Morocco, as in other countries around the
world, face precarious conditions, with high
vulnerability to abuses both from criminal networks and
from authorities. This report by Doctors Without Borders
documents the situation in Morocco's
east, from which many try to enter from Algeria or
attempt the border crossings from Morocco to the Spanish
enclave of Melilla.
This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains a press release and
excerpts from the report released last month by MSF,
"Violence, Vulnerability and Migration: Trapped at the
Gates of Europe."
For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on migration issues,
see http://www.africafocus.org/migrexp.php
For an earlier AfricaFocus Bulletin with background on
sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco, see http://www.africafocus.org/docs06/mig0609a.php
For several in-depth monographs on migration in North
Africa, including migration from sub-Saharan Africa, see
http://www.heindehaas.com/workingpapers.html
For an overview of "African Migration, Global
Inequalities, and Human Rights," see http://www.africafocus.org/editor/nai-migration.pdf
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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Morocco: Violence, vulnerability and migration
13/03/2013
Doctors Without Borders
http://www.msf.org/resources
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/press/release.cfm?id=6688
Direct URL: http://tinyurl.com/bv7n2cy
A new report by Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without
Borders (MSF) outlines the impact of precarious living
conditions and widespread criminal and institutional
violence on the health of undocumented sub-Saharan
migrants trapped in Morocco on their way to Europe.
According to the report, Morocco's transformation, as a
result of increasingly stringent border controls, from a
country of transit to a forced destination for migrants
heightens their vulnerability.
Undermining human rights
The implementation of migration policies which undermine
respect for human rights is impacting on the health of
this population, which includes vulnerable groups, such
as victims of sexual violence or human trafficking, who
are not receiving specialised care and protection from
the authorities.
"The renewed cooperation efforts between Morocco and
Spain which, according to these countries, are focused on
the fight against cross-border crime, illegal migration
and drug trafficking. are having a serious impact on the
physical and mental health of sub-Saharan migrants",
explains David Cantero, MSF Head of Mission in Morocco.
"Migration policies privilege internal security criteria
over respect for fundamental human rights".
MSF report
The report, Trapped at the Gates of Europe, denounces the
violence which migrants are subjected to on a daily
basis.
Since December 2011, MSF teams have witnessed an increase
in the number of police raids, during which migrants'
belongings are destroyed, and an increase in the
expulsion to Algeria of those who arrested, including
vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, injured people
and minors.
These indiscriminate raids and expulsions are part of the
renewed violence used by Moroccan and Spanish security
forces to dissuade migrants attempting to jump the fences
surrounding the Spanish territory of Melilla. In 2012
alone, the MSF teams in Oriental Region, which includes
Nador, neighbouring Melilla, treated over 1,100 injured
people.
"Since April last year, in particular, we have seen
broken arms, legs, hands, and jaws as well as broken
teeth and concussions, amongst others. These injuries are
consistent with migrants' accounts of having been
attacked by the security forces", explains Cantero.
Sexual violence
One of the most urgent and significant problems outlined
in the report is the sexual violence experienced, for the
most part, by migrant women and girls.
It is impossible to determine the exact proportions of
this violence, however MSF's medical data reveals an
alarming situation. From 2010 to 2012, MSF teams treated
almost 700 survivors.
...
Access to healthcare
Trapped at the Gates of Europe recognises the
improvements in migrants' access to healthcare services
in Morocco, which have been achieved by civil society
organisations and non-governmental organisations working
with the Ministry of Health. This has led to a gradual
decrease in MSF's direct medical activities over the past
few years.
However, the question mark over the application of a new
health insurance regime, the lack of mental health
services and comprehensive care for survivors of sexual
violence (for both migrants and Moroccans) and the
existence of areas where, for fear of being expelled,
migrants do not voluntarily go to health centres, are
pitfalls that the Moroccan government needs to overcome.
The progress made to date, however, will be limited if
migration policies continue to criminalise and
marginalise sub-Saharan migrants and prioritise the focus
on internal security over respect for human rights.
MSF hand over activities
The protection of migrants and the defence of their
fundamental rights fall outside the scope of MSF's work
as a medical and humanitarian organisation and this is
one of the reasons why MSF has decided to hand over its
activities in Morocco this year.
MSF urges the Moroccan and Spanish governments to stop
the abuses perpetrated by their security forces, comply
with international and national human rights agreements
and guarantee that sub-Saharan migrants are treated
humanely, regardless of their legal status.
MSF in Morocco
MSF has worked in Morocco since 1997. Since 2003 the
organisation has focused its operations on guaranteeing
access to healthcare for migrants. MSF handed over its
activities in Rabat in 2012 and is currently handing over
its remaining operations in Oujda and Nador.
Violence, Vulnerability and Migration: Trapped at the
Gates of Europe
A report on the situation of sub-Saharan migrants in an
irregular situation in Morocco
Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders
March 2003
Executive Summary
Over the last ten years, as the European Union (EU) has
tightened its border controls and increasingly
externalised its migration policies, Morocco has changed
from being just a transit country for migrants en route
to Europe to being both a transit and destination country
by default. MSF's experience demonstrates that the longer
sub-Saharan migrants stay in Morocco the more vulnerable
they become. This preexisting vulnerability, related to
factors such as age and gender, as well as traumas
experienced during the migration process, accumulates as
they are trapped in Morocco and subjected to policies and
practices that neglect, exclude and discriminate against
them.
MSF's data demonstrates that the precarious living
conditions that the majority of sub-Saharan migrants in
Morocco are forced to live in and the wide-spread
institutional and criminal violence that they are exposed
to continue to be the main factors influencing medical
and psychological needs.
MSF teams have repeatedly highlighted and denounced this
situation, yet violence remains a daily reality for the
majority of sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco. In fact, as
this report demonstrates, the period since December 2011
has seen a sharp increase in abuse, degrading treatment
and violence against sub-Saharan migrants by Moroccan and
Spanish security forces. This report also reveals the
widespread violence carried out by criminal gangs,
including bandits and human smuggling and human
trafficking networks. It provides a glimpse into the
shocking levels of sexual violence that migrants are
exposed to throughout the migration process and demands
better assistance and protection for those affected.
These unacceptable levels of violence should not
overshadow the achievements that have been made in
recognition and respect for sub-Saharan migrants' right
to health over the last ten years. Progress has been
made, however considerable challenges remain,
particularly with regard to non-emergency, secondary
care, care for people with mental health problems and
protection and assistance for survivors of sexual
violence. Further investment and reform of the healthcare
system is needed, however the impact of the progress made
to date and any future reforms will be limited unless
concrete action is taken to address the discrepancy
between European and Moroccan policies which view
migration through a security prism and criminalise,
marginalise and discriminate against sub-Saharan migrants
in Morocco and those which protect and uphold their
fundamental human rights.
This report highlights the medical and psychological
consequences of this approach and the cumulative
vulnerability of the significant numbers of sub-Saharan
migrants who are trapped in Morocco. In doing so it
calls, once again, on the Moroccan authorities to respect
their international and national commitments to human
rights, develop and implement protection mechanisms and
ensure that sub-Saharan migrants are treated in a humane
and dignified manner, no matter what their legal status.
. . .
The sub-Saharan Migrant Population in Oriental Region
As a country of origin for Moroccans emigrating to Europe
or elsewhere, a transit country for migrants en route to
Europe and a destination country for people seeking
asylum or economic opportunities, Morocco has a long and
complicated relationship with migration. According to
MSF's data, the sub-Saharan migrant population in Morocco
is predominantly West African and includes people who
have been forced to flee their countries in search of
asylum and protection, people who have been pushed to
leave their countries by factors such as climate change
or a lack of livelihood and economic opportunities and
people who have been recruited or exploited by human
trafficking networks.
Although migration routes continually change, the
majority of sub- Saharan migrants enter Morocco by
crossing from Maghnia, on the Algerian side of the
border, to Oujda, on the Moroccan side. According to
MSF's data3 the overall numbers of sub-Saharan migrants
in Oujda have decreased since 2010, however since the end
of June 2012 an increase is evident. ...
In Oujda, the sub-Saharan migrant population lives in
groups according to their nationalities, which are
organised and controlled by individuals involved in the
smuggling and trafficking of human beings. MSF's data
from 2010 to 2012 reveals that the population in Oujda is
82% adult male and 13% adult female. Of the female
population approximately 14% are pregnant. 2% of the
population is made up of unaccompanied minors, aged
between 13 and 18 years old who have migrated without a
parent or legal guardian. 3% are children aged under 13.
After arriving in Oujda the majority of sub-Saharan
migrants travel to other parts of Morocco as soon as they
can. Many travel to the coastal town of Nador, which
borders the Spanish city of Melilla, where they live in
groups which are organised according to their means of
getting to Europe. The population living in Gurugu forest
is almost exclusively male and includes significant
numbers of unaccompanied minors who do not have the money
to pay a smuggling network and try to enter Europe by
other means, such as jumping the fences or swimming to
Melilla. In other areas of Nador the communities are
organised by individuals involved in human smuggling and
human trafficking and consist of mixed nationality groups
of men, women, boys and girls who are waiting for a boat4
or other means of transport to take them to Europe.
...
In the last ten years, as the European Union has
tightened its border controls and increasingly
externalised its migration management policies,
significant numbers of sub-Saharan migrants are becoming
"trapped" in Morocco, unable to continue their journeys
to Europe and equally unable to return to their countries
of origin. The MSF survey of approximately 20% of the
population in Oriental region (190 sub-Saharan migrants)
that was carried out in 2012 reveals that more than half
of those interviewed had been in Morocco for more than
six months.
...
Violence
Physical and psychological trauma are constant factors of
the migration process, with many migrants experiencing
conflict, violence, rape or other forms of sexual
violence in their countries of origin or during their
journeys. MSF's experience shows that the longer subSaharan
migrants are trapped in Morocco, where they are
continually subjected to policies and practices that
criminalise, exclude and discriminate against them, the
more exposed and vulnerable they are to violence, abuse
and exploitation.
Over the last ten years MSF teams have issued a series of
reports and public communications to highlight and
denounce this violence that impacts migrants' physical
and mental health. Yet, violence remains a daily reality
for the majority of sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco. In
fact in the last year MSF teams have witnessed a sharp
increase in violence by Moroccan and Spanish security
forces. The perpetrators of violence are able to act with
impunity knowing that vast majority of sub-Saharan
migrants who are beaten, abused, raped and attacked will
not seek medical help, protection or justice due to fear
of arrest or other repercussions.
The results of the MSF survey give a glimpse into the
levels and scale of the violence experienced by most subSaharan
migrants in Morocco. 63% of people interviewed
said they had experienced violence in Morocco. According
to the responses given, the Moroccan Security Forces were
the most common perpetrators of violence (64% of
responses), followed by Moroccan bandits (21% of
responses) and the Spanish Guardia Civil (7% of
responses). Many incidents of violence (12% of responses)
involved more than two perpetrators.
Three-quarters of those who had experienced violence in
Morocco had experienced multiple episodes of violence.
...
From 2010 to 2012, 18% (2,124) of MSF's medical
consultations were related to physical and sexual
violence. Over three quarters of patients who received
psychological assistance identified violence as the most
relevant precipitating event for their mental health
condition. In the last year alone, MSF teams in Nador and
Oujda have assisted more than 1,100 people with violence
related injuries. ...
Over the past three years MSF has provided essential
medical and psychological care to almost 700 male and
female survivors of sexual violence, who had been
attacked in their country of origin, en route and in
Morocco. Amongst these were more than 240 victims of
human trafficking, the vast majority of whom had suffered
multiple episodes of rape and other forms of physical,
psychological and sexual violence.
The hundreds of victims of physical and sexual violence
that MSF has assisted in the last three years are the
ones that have sought and received care and, as such,
represent only a small proportion of those affected.
Violence by the Security Forces
Raids and Expulsions
Since December 2011 efforts by the Moroccan government,
supported by its European partners particularly the
Spanish government, to combat "cross-border crime,
illegal immigration and the trafficking of drugs and
weapons" have resulted in a dramatic rise in widescale,
indiscriminate raids on sub-Saharan migrant communities
in Morocco. Daily raids have been carried out on subSaharan
migrant communities in Oriental Region, with
large-scale raids on specific suburbs of cities
nationwide, including Rabat-Salé, Casablanca, Fes and
Tangiers, also regularly taking place. The sub-Saharan
migrants who are arrested during these raids, including
pregnant women, minors, refugees and asylum seekers, are
taken at night, en masse to the border of Morocco (Oujda)
and Algeria (Maghnia) and expelled into the no-man's land
separating the two countries.
...
During expulsions sub-Saharan migrants are dropped at the
Moroccan side of the border by Moroccan security forces
and then forced to cross to the Algerian side. Interviews
with MSF's patients reveal that whilst doing so many are
attacked by the Algerian security forces, who threaten
and mistreat them and, at times, fire into the air to try
and get them to turn back and re-enter Morocco. Thus
migrants are caught in a sinister game of ping pong
between two sets of security forces. According to
testimonies taken by MSF staff, violence and abuse by the
Algerian security forces is commonplace.
"They took us to the border and threw us onto the
Algerian side at 11pm. The Algerian police / gendarmerie
came out with their guns....they took us and put us in
their base. I wanted to run and I tried to escape but one
of them cried "don't run!" and he fired. I hid and the
bullet missed me. They beat me a lot, with their boots,
with their guns......They took our clothes and burnt
everything. They took our money. They let us go at 4am.
We only had our bermudas (underwear) on. Luckily we
passed a Moroccan who was on his way to the mosque. He
asked us what had happened and gave us some clothes to
wear." Denis, 16 years old
The procedures for the removal of foreigners who are in
Morocco without the correct documentation are outlined in
Law 02-03. Articles 21 to 25 stipulate that foreigners
can be returned to the border or expelled if they are
deemed to constitute a "severe threat to public order."
... [but] The removal of pregnant foreign women and
foreign minors is forbidden. In addition no foreigner can
be taken to a country in which it is established that
"his [or her] life or liberty would be threatened or
where he [or she] would be exposed to inhumane, cruel or
degrading treatment." According to MSF's interpretation
the expulsion of people with serious wounds or illnesses
to the desert area separating Morocco and Algeria
constitutes a threat to their life, therefore sick and
injured people should not be expelled.
Despite these provisions, MSF teams in Oriental Region
recorded a worrying increase in the expulsion of these
vulnerable groups throughout 2012. In 2011 MSF teams
recorded 63 incidents of expulsion. More than 1,300
people were expelled including 38 women, six of whom were
pregnant, six unaccompanied minors and 24 children. In
2012, 191 incidents were recorded and more than 6,000
people were expelled. According to MSF's data at least 93
women, 18 of whom were pregnant, 45 minors, 35 children
and more than 500 people requiring medical care for
violence related injuries were expelled throughout the
year. ...
With few other options available to them, the majority of
sub-Saharan migrants who are arrested and expelled return
to Oujda as soon as possible. According to the MSF
survey, 68% of people interviewed said they had been
arrested and expelled since they arrived in Morocco. ...
Violence at the Moroccan and Spanish Border
In the summer of 2012, for the first time since 2005,
large groups of migrants attempted to cross the fences
separating Nador and the Spanish territory of Melilla at
the same time. Whilst the Moroccan and Spanish media have
reported on the "Peril Noir (Black Danger)" and the
"thousands of sub-Saharans stalking Spain" little has
been said about the extreme violence with which the
Moroccan Security Forces and, to a lesser extent, the
Spanish Guardia Civil have responded to these attempts.
The abuse of sub-Saharan migrants' fundamental human
rights, violence, degrading treatment and significant
medical and psychological harm are direct consequences of
the "new era" in Spanish Moroccan relations and the
"excellent" cooperation on security issues publicly
highlighted by representatives of the Spanish and
Moroccan governments throughout 2012.
MSF mobile clinic teams in Nador assisted more than 600
people with violence related injuries in 2012. Between
April and October 2012 the percentage of people MSF
assisted for violence related injuries almost doubled,
from 22 to 42% of all people assisted. ...
"Many of the wounds that MSF teams have seen, such as
broken arms, legs, hands, jaws and teeth, concussions,
head and spinal injuries and two men who have been
blinded in one eye, are consistent with traumas caused by
wood, rocks, stones or other implements." MSF Medical
Coordinator
Testimonies taken from MSF's patients state that security
forces and members of the civilian population throw
stones at them when they are trying to jump the fences.
Those who are caught are beaten with batons, wood and
other instruments and subjected to degrading treatment.
...
During the summer of 2012, MSF teams received numerous
testimonies from sub-Saharan migrants saying that after
being beaten they were taken and dumped in isolated
areas, far from assistance. In July MSF's mobile clinic
team found five seriously injured people in a ravine
between the road and the river in Ekodadan, Nador. After
MSF called the ambulance service these patients were
transferred to hospital.
...
The violence, abuse and degrading treatment carried out
by the Moroccan security forces directly contravenes the
Moroccan Constitution, which establishes the primacy of
international law over national law and protects
fundamental rights and liberties, including the right to
life, security, freedom of thought, opinion and
expression and forbids all serious and systematic human
rights violations, cruel and degrading treatment,
torture, arbitrary detention, forced disappearances and
any incitation to racism, hate or violence. They also
violate the fundamental human rights and protections
enshrined in the international conventions that Morocco
has ratified, ...
According to MSF's experience it is not only the Moroccan
security forces who are responsible for violence against
sub-Saharan migrants as they try to cross into Europe. In
late 2012 MSF teams treated patients who stated that the
Guardia Civil used rubber bullets to apprehend them and
beat them.
Testimonies taken by MSF staff indicate that many of the
migrants who succeed in crossing the fences, including
some of whom are visibly injured, are caught by the
Spanish Guardia Civil and handed back to the Moroccan
security forces.
In September 2012, 43 injured migrants arrived at MSF's
office in Oujda after having been expelled to the border
with Algeria by the Moroccan police. They told MSF staff
that they were part of a large group who had succeeded in
entering Melilla in the early hours of 3 September but
they were caught by the Guardia Civil, who used rubber
bullets and electric batons to apprehend them, and then
handed over to Moroccan security forces, who beat them.
More than half of the 43 needed immediate medical care,
including eight who were referred to hospital. ...
...
Conclusion
Eight years after issuing its first report denouncing the
treatment of sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco, MSF is once
again highlighting the medical and psychological needs
resulting from the precarious living conditions and widespread
institutional and criminal violence that subSaharan
migrants are subjected to whilst they are in
Morocco.
..
As a medical humanitarian organisation, it is not MSF's
role to dictate migration policy in Africa and Europe.
However, it is MSF's duty to highlight the violence,
abuse and suffering experienced by Eight years after
issuing its first report denouncing the treatment of subSaharan
migrants in Morocco, MSF is once again
highlighting the medical and psychological needs
resulting from the precarious living conditions and widespread
institutional and criminal violence that subSaharan
migrants are subjected to whilst they are in
Morocco.
AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic
publication providing reposted commentary and analysis on
African issues, with a particular focus on U.S. and
international policies. AfricaFocus Bulletin is edited by
William Minter.
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