A/HRC/41/54/Add.1 have forcefully relocated thousands of migrants in an effort to crack down on irregular migration to Spain. In order to keep migrants away from land or sea crossings, the authorities transport them in buses to other regions of Morocco. While some reported having been taken to cities, the Special Rapporteur heard of many individuals who had been taken to remote regions in the south of Morocco, including areas around Tiznit and areas close to the Algerian border, where they had been abandoned without any form of assistance. During interviews, the Special Rapporteur was told about incidents in which even pregnant women, children, sick persons, United Nations-recognized asylum seekers and refugees, and registered migrants holding a residency card, had been forcefully relocated. Many migrants have been subjected to multiple relocations, since many return to the north of Morocco as soon as they can gather enough money. 55. Although forced relocations of irregular migrants are permitted under Moroccan law,38 the Special Rapporteur reiterates that this practice raises serious human rights issues, including with respect to its discriminatory nature. Alongside other issues, the use of racial profiling is of grave concern, and violates international human rights obligations. Moroccan police and other authorities involved in migration enforcement reportedly conduct regular raids in neighbourhoods and forests in which migrants live, targeting sub-Saharan Africans, who are identified on the basis of their skin colour. Black migrants reported being arbitrarily arrested in their homes, on the street or in public places – sometimes with the use of excessive force – before being taken to the police and forced on buses. In the city of Tangier, such practices have created an atmosphere of fear, in which some black migrants feel forced to remain hidden for fear they may become the subject of racial profiling resulting in arrest and forced relocation. 56. The Special Rapporteur was also informed that forced evictions in August 2018 in neighbourhoods in Tangier predominantly with black sub-Saharan migrants had resulted in the destruction of property and the displacement of migrants, including of regular migrants, pregnant women, and children. The Special Rapporteur spoke to some of these people, who now reside in utterly inhumane conditions in a forest, with no sanitation and no shelter despite freezing winter temperatures. The Special Rapporteur expresses grave concern that these evictions violated the human rights of many migrants, some of whom reported that notwithstanding legal or asylum seeker status, the colour of their skin put them in grave danger. The Special Rapporteur recalls that prohibited racial discrimination under international law does not require racial animus or prejudice – even measures that disproportionately affect or target groups on the basis of their race, national origin, ethnicity and descent contravene international human rights law. 57. During her meetings with government interlocutors, the Special Rapporteur was told that government action against migrants in the north of Morocco occurred in the context of fighting crime, trafficking and smuggling. The Special Rapporteur reiterates that this cannot serve as a pretext or justification for racial discrimination. While Morocco has a sovereign right to enforce its immigration law, and an obligation to combat trafficking and smuggling where it occurs, this enforcement must be in compliance with international human rights standards that prohibit racial discrimination, including de facto racial discrimination. Even black sub-Saharan migrants who reported having been well integrated into Moroccan communities in the north reported a shift in the enforcement climate in the region. 58. The Special Rapporteur is deeply concerned that severe human rights violations against black sub-Saharan migrants and refugees in the north are occurring, and she urges Morocco to take steps to end these violations. In this context, she stresses that the Government of Morocco is responsible and accountable for the actions of local government representatives, including police and immigration enforcement officials. 59. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the assurances that she received from Moroccan authorities at the national level of their commitment to strengthen the human rights compliance of immigration-related enforcement across the country. These national assurances must take local effect. She also welcomes and wishes to highlight reports she 38 Moroccan authorities advised that this legal policy was subject to ongoing reforms, and the Special Rapporteur welcomes further details in this regard. 15