Migration and asylum in Morocco is the main subject of the study visit of the Interministerial delegation of Tunisia

Mr. Mohammed Essabbar, Secretary General of the National Human Rights Council of Morocco (CNDH) received on Thursday 6 July 2017 at the Council’s headquarters in Rabat, the interministerial delegation of Tunisia to learn about migration and asylum in Morocco. The study visited last from 3 to 6 July 2017.

Organized by the UNHCR offices in Tunis and Rabat, It aims to allow the Tunisian delegation to inquire on methods and ways used by the Moroccan authorities to manage migration and face the phenomenon of mixed migration flows.

The Tunisian delegation was composed by ten officials from the Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Social Affairs and Defence.

Mr. Essabbar highlighted the mission of the CNDH and its main actions on migration and asylum. He presented the recommendations of the thematic report of the CNDH on foreigners and human rights in Morocco, in which he called for the development and implementation of a genuine public policy that protects human rights. He added that the government has interacted positively with the Council’s recommendations and has put in place a new migration policy based on a holistic and humanistic approach. The first stages of this policy were characterized by the launching of the operation to document immigrants according to established criteria and the installation of the National monitoring and appeals committee, chaired by the CNDH.

Furthermore, Mr. Essabbar stressed the importance of the role of the institution in dealing with complaints, including those of migrants. He also pointed out its role in strengthening the capacity of the parties concerned, including civil society working on migration rights and authorities in contact with migrants, etc.

The members of the Tunisian delegation expressed their interest in the successful Moroccan experience in migration, which Tunisia can learn from in the future. This visit provided an opportunity to learn about how the Moroccan authorities and other actors/ partners manage the different aspects of migration flows (regular migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and irregular migrants).

The CNDH has been designated by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) as its African focal point to monitor the Global Compact process, within the framework of the GANHRI approach aiming to support the participation and the contribution of NHRIs at all stages of the consultation process.