Country: Morocco

Group: Sub-Saharan migrants

Date Finalized: 04/07/21

Team: Abi Pentecost (lead), Ann Thomas, Arisha Khan, Samantha Bradford

Content Warning: forced eviction, police brutality, violence

Approximate Time Period: 2018-present

Morocco is a common staging ground for many sub-Saharan migrants as they attempt to cross into Europe, via Spain (Salmi, 2014). There is sufficient evidence to show that sub-Saharan migrants were forcibly removed from Morocco.

Individuals from many sub-Saharan African countries are included under the sub-Saharan ethnic identity and a large number of them are fleeing poverty, political upheaval, civil strife, and persecution (Salmi, 2014). Migrants that are temporarily living in Morocco lack basic necessities such as electricity, running water, poor access to health services, and shelter. This lack of stability and resources places sub-Saharan migrants in very vulnerable positions where they are easily exploited and harassed (Amnesty International, 2018; Salmi, 2014). According to first hand reports, the Moroccon police force leads constant raids on migrant camps in order to apprehend and transfer migrants to remote areas along the Morocco-Algeria border (Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2019). These actions are carried out without an investigation into whether migrants hold proper documentation, which violates the system of asylum and protection of human rights that Morocco is required to uphold under international law (Amnesty International, 2018). Despite many first hand accounts of these violent, forced evictions, the government denies any wrongdoing. In 2018, the Moroccon government received $275 million dollars from the European Union as a speculated incentive to decrease migration from Africa into Europe (Alami, 2018)

The data quality for this group can be ranked at a 3 because of the vast amount of information about sub-Saharan migrants being forced away from Morocco. Evidence was available from a variety of reliable sources including NGOs, government reports, and firsthand accounts.

Sources

  1. Alami, A. (2018, October 22). Morocco Unleashes a Harsh Crackdown on Sub-Saharan Migrants—The New York Times. https://www-nytimes-com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/2018/10/22/world/africa/morocco-crackdown-sub-saharan-migrants-spain.html
  2. Amnesty International. (2018, September 7). Morocco: Relentless crackdown on thousands of sub-Saharan migrants and refugees is unlawful. Amnesty International. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/09/morocco-relentless-crackdown-on-thousands-of-sub-saharan-migrants-and-refugees-is-unlawful/
  3. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. (2019). 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Morocco [Country Reports on Human Rights]. US Department of State. https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/morocco/
  4. Salmi, K. (2014, February 10). Abused and Expelled. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/report/2014/02/10/abused-and-expelled/ill-treatment-sub-saharan-african-migrants-morocco