E/CN.4/2004/76/Add.3 page 11 37. A foreigner wishing to settle in Morocco to work is subject to immigration law. As the Moroccan Government itself has noted, the current legislation is out of date and can no longer cope with the demands of increased migration flows. 38. The various regulations5 allow foreigners 15 days in which to carry out the residence formalities; they also establish penalties for failure to comply with Moroccan entry and residence requirements - imprisonment, administrative sanctions or expulsion. With a view to updating the legislative framework, legislators prepared draft legislation on entry to and residence in Morocco and on illegal immigration, and this was enacted by Parliament on 26 June 2003 as Act No. 02-03, on foreigners’ entry to and residence in Morocco, and on irregular immigration and emigration. 39. The Special Rapporteur was informed that the purpose of the new law is to unify the existing texts, bring the law into line with the provisions of the Criminal Code as part of the process of updating the existing legal framework, establish and define precise categories of offences relating to illegal emigration and trafficking in migrants, and rationalize the residence criteria for foreigners who have settled in Morocco, through effective oversight. In particular, the Act incorporates the hierarchy of laws as a basic principle, inasmuch as all its provisions are to be applied subject to the international Conventions ratified by Morocco (art. 1); it upholds the principle of acquired rights: several categories of foreigners, for example, who have settled in Morocco and who meet the relevant conditions may not be expelled or escorted to the border (art. 26); it includes the right to family reunification; it gives the judiciary explicit responsibility for safeguarding the rights and conditions of detention of foreigners waiting to be escorted to the border; and it provides for application for interim relief in cases where issuance or renewal of a residence permit is denied. 40. As regards sanctions, the Act increases the penalties for irregular migrants who employ fraudulent methods to pass through border posts and enter or leave Morocco illegally;6 it also increases the maximum penalty for officials who facilitate illegal immigration.7 For that, the Act provides for severe penalties for any person facilitating the illegal entry or exit of nationals or foreigners, and for any organization created for such purposes.8 2. The context of illegal migration to Morocco 41. The Special Rapporteur found that irregular migrants to Morocco from sub-Saharan Africa pose a serious problem. These people undertake journeys of several stages that may last up to three years. They pass through several countries, forced to take any work they can find just to survive and pay the smuggler who will make it possible for them to move on. Many of them have route maps provided by the “brothers” who have preceded them, with names of contacts and towns or places to stay. 42. The irregular migrants who come to Morocco have two options: either to use the country as a stepping stone to Europe, generally through Spain; or, if they cannot cross the Strait of Gibraltar, to stay in Morocco, where the situation is better than that they have left behind in their country of origin. The cause of their departure is always related to social and economic issues and the political situation in their home country.