E/CN.4/2004/76/Add.3
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68.
The Special Rapporteur notes that, as a result of this mainly control-based migration
policy, Morocco is under pressure to play the role of policeman. The Special Rapporteur has
also been told that Morocco has been pressed by its European partners to set up reception centres
along the lines of Spain’s temporary holding centres for immigrants (CETI) for initial reception
of migrants awaiting a decision on their case.
69.
Although the Special Rapporteur stresses that appropriate assistance should always be
guaranteed and provided to irregular migrants in a particular country, she believes that the
establishment of holding centres may entail certain risks. In that regard, she recalls the
experience of Ceuta, where, as long as no solution can be found to the problem of sub-Saharan
irregular migrants, the reception centres are frequently overcrowded, waiting times are very long
and there is genuine social unrest. What is more, the establishment of such centres may place
too heavy a burden on Morocco in financial and human resource terms, if measures to prevent
illegal migration are not put in place at the same time.
70.
In the Special Rapporteur’s view, it is essential for Morocco and the European Union to
collaborate in developing a policy of co-development with migrants’ countries of origin or
transit. The planned measures still seem to concentrate too much on what is basically policing.
The Special Rapporteur advocates the incorporation of global development measures as part of
the strategy to combat illegal immigration, which must of necessity deal with African emigration
as a whole and pay particular attention to its root causes.
71.
The Special Rapporteur is pleased to hear that a dialogue on the migration problem the 5+5 Dialogue - has been initiated by the countries of the western Mediterranean, and
recommends that there should be a positive, concrete follow-up to the recommendations of
the Tunis Declaration, which established a global, balanced framework for all aspects of the
migration issue, and to the development of this approach by the Ministerial Conference in Rabat.
The Special Rapporteur recommends an approach to the issue of migration that ties in with
migrants’ rights, as well as action to combat poverty and local development efforts in the regions
most likely to produce migrants.
72.
In that regard, the Special Rapporteur urges Morocco to put in place instruments of
immigration policy incorporating a component on the integration of migrant populations, for
they must be given an appropriate status. She also recommends that Morocco should provide for
reintegration of migrants returning home - voluntarily or otherwise. Resettlement programmes
should take account of the social and human dimension of migration, including the psychological
consequences of uprooting and the difficulties of re-entering the labour market.
III. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
73.
The Special Rapporteur notes with satisfaction the Moroccan Government’s efforts
to protect the rights of its nationals abroad. She is concerned at the situation regarding the
rights of Moroccan irregular migrants and at conditions for sub-Saharans in Morocco.
The Special Rapporteur notes the Government’s efforts to combat illegal migration to
Morocco and from Morocco to Europe. In her view, positive efforts are being made by all
government bodies at various levels. The problem is the lack of financial resources to
strengthen the capacity of those bodies responsible for combating illegal migration and