During the International Conference on Development and Migration in Rome, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita addressed the issue of migration from a more humanitarian perspective with his European counterparts.
The International Conference on Development and Migration, attended by heads of state and government and Foreign Ministers mainly from the Mediterranean region, took place on Sunday in Rome.
According to MoroccoWorldNews, the minister described during the conference the country’s vision on this issue, seeing it as a “lived reality”, and highlighted the Moroccan government’s efforts through the integration of regularisation operations and humane border management.
“This agenda considers migration as a factor of rapprochement between populations and civilisations and aims to make migration a lever of co-development, a pillar of South-South cooperation and a vector of solidarity,” the minister said, according to MoroccoWorldNews.
The Alawi kingdom, which has been noted for its high migration flow both as a transit country and as a receiving country of migrants and refugees, called on Mediterranean countries to assist the most vulnerable migrants and to address issues related to xenophobia.
Morocco’s executive has always been involved in migration policies and the treatment of migrants. In 2013, King Mohammed VI launched the National Policy on Immigration and Asylum, which has made it possible to advance the migration issue in public policies in multiple areas such as education, health, housing and employment, thus using a more humanitarian approach to migration and asylum. In January, the Alawi king also presented Morocco’s draft African Agenda on Migration to African heads of state.
The Moroccan government has developed cooperation agreements on the irregular flow of migrants with the EU and Spain, such as the planned 152 million euro agreement to address irregular migration.
During the COVID-19 health crisis, the number of refugees in Morocco increased by approximately 45 per cent according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the North African government implemented a specific protection mechanism for migrants during this pandemic.
Data from the Moroccan Interior Ministry in June reported the work of the country’s authorities in dismantling 117 criminal networks involved in human smuggling, some 290 in the previous year, and a total of 1,500 over the past five years.
Morocco’s commitment to migration is reflected both at the national level and in various international and regional bodies, such as the European Union, the United Nations, and the various African regional forums.
Source : Atalayar
