E/CN.4/2004/76/Add.3 page 2 Summary At the invitation of the Government of Morocco, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants undertook an official mission to that country from 19 to 31 October 2003. It is suggested that this report be read jointly with the report on the Special Rapporteur’s visit to Spain (see E/CN.4/2004/76/Add.2). In her report, the Special Rapporteur examines the general situation of migrants in Morocco as a country of origin and transit and as a receiving country, and she describes the vulnerable position in which migrants find themselves and the situations that expose them to risks and abuse. One of the most serious problems the Special Rapporteur identified during her visit was the situation with regard to the rights of Moroccan irregular migrants and of persons from sub-Saharan Africa in Morocco. The problem stems from a lack of funding to strengthen the capacities of the organizations responsible for combating irregular migration, to guarantee irregular migrants various forms of assistance and to manage migration. The Special Rapporteur is also concerned by the situation of unaccompanied minors and recommends that they be given adequate protection and assistance and that their situation be very closely monitored. The Special Rapporteur takes note of the Government’s efforts to combat irregular migration and considers it crucial to update domestic legislation in order to wage this battle more effectively. She points out, however, that the updating of the legislative framework is unbalanced, in that the pending measures are exclusively repressive in nature. She encourages Morocco to pursue a migration policy aimed at closing the gap between the protection and the degree of protection and assistance that the country demands for its own expatriates and the treatment it affords to foreign migrants under its jurisdiction. She stresses the need to approach the management of migration flows within the framework of socio-economic development and encourages the European Union to continue its dialogue with Morocco and to build its partnership around cooperation strategies that seek to counter irregular migration through technical assistance and co-development programmes. The concrete measures recommended by the Special Rapporteur include: establishing programmes to protect the rights of irregular migrants and offer specific forms of assistance for migrants who are sick or injured; designing programmes for their physical and psychological rehabilitation; acknowledging the existence of the phenomenon of the prostitution and exploitation of female migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and creating appropriate instruments to protect, rehabilitate and assist the victims of the traffic in persons; planning training for the judicial authorities, facilitating access to legal remedies and conducting awareness-raising and information campaigns; strengthening mechanisms for internal monitoring of officials involved in migration management; and adopting anti-corruption measures. The Special Rapporteur invites the government institutions responsible for migration issues and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to strengthen their position and to adopt an approach that focuses more on the protection of migrants’ rights.