A/HRC/41/54/Add.1 49. Although national law and policy guarantees a range of rights to migrants and refugees on an equal basis in all of these contexts, rights violations persist and discrimination remains a key barrier to integration. The Special Rapporteur received testimonies from individual migrants who, on the basis of their race, had been subjected to racist stereotypes, and in some cases that stereotyping had also directly resulted in racially discriminatory denial of their rights. For many sub-Saharan Africans, finding affordable secure and stable housing remains challenging because landlords refuse them rentals on the basis of their race and legal status. In addition, the Special Rapporteur heard about difficulties in accessing health care, including for pregnant women. Those difficulties related to various factors such as the lack of financial means, the absence of adequate support structures, and neglect or even refusal of treatment due to racist stereotypes by health-care professionals. Similar challenges have been identified in the field of education. Migrant families reported difficulties in enrolling their children in schools, often due to administrative barriers for those who were not properly registered or lacked the required documentation. Racist stereotypes and prejudice also played a role in some cases where schools had refused to enrol black migrant children, claiming that their schools were at full capacity. 50. In one consultation, the Special Rapporteur learned that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender migrants, refugees and asylum seekers were especially vulnerable to human rights violations on account of their sexual orientation and gender identity. In this context, she highlights the importance of an intersectional approach, and recalls that racial equality and non-discrimination must be guaranteed for all, irrespective of sexual orientation and gender identity. 51. In addition to racial discrimination in access to services, individuals of sub-Saharan origin often face discrimination by private individuals. To date, it appears that Morocco has not experienced the same levels of xenophobic violence, hate speech and hate crimes targeted at migrants and refugees as is the case in many other parts of the world. Nevertheless, migrants, asylum seekers and refugees from sub-Saharan Africa experience racist and xenophobic acts in public, including spitting, insults, stone throwing and physical assaults. According to information received, police rarely investigate complaints, and where investigations occur, accountability is compromised by lack of proof, inadequate legal assistance and support structures, language barriers, and absence of trust in the authorities. 52. Of great concern is the pressure that Morocco currently faces from Europe in matters relating to migration governance, given the geopolitical significance of the Kingdom’s location. It is no secret that in recent years, Europe has escalated its efforts to restrict migration, especially from Africa. Some statistics suggest that Morocco is currently the second most prevalent route for irregular migration to Europe, 37 and efforts to prevent Africans – including Moroccans, but especially black sub-Saharan migrants – from reaching Europe have created a situation of serious human rights concern in Morocco. This situation is at risk of worsening, and Morocco must take proactive steps to avoid further escalation. 53. In the north of Morocco, migrants face severe restrictions on freedom of movement, and in recent months, immigration and related enforcement efforts have resulted in human rights violations against regular and irregular migrants, targeted especially at black, subSaharan Africans. In the north of the country, the Special Rapporteur received credible reports of harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention, excessive use of force, and forced relocation, in some cases targeted at regular and irregular migrants alike, where officials employed racial profiling in the course of law enforcement. 54. The Special Rapporteur is seriously concerned about the use of racial profiling and the absence of due process in the conduct of forced relocations of migrants in the northern regions of Tangier, Nador and Tétouan. Interlocutors report that forced relocations have dramatically increased, following an incident in July 2018 when hundreds of people stormed a border fence at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Since then, Moroccan authorities 37 14 “Morocco’s migration policies and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration”, p. 11, available from http://gfmd.org/pfp/ppd/10974.