Spain has returned more than a dozen sub-Saharan African and Asian migrants who had reached the Spanish territory of Ceuta and whose asylum requests were rejected, to Morocco. This action is considered the first deportation from this territory following a mass border crossing in July.
Details of the Migrants' Return
The Spanish Ministry of the Interior announced that this group has been returned to Morocco, which has also agreed to accept them. Although the exact numbers and nationalities of the migrants have not been disclosed, NGOs and charities in Ceuta report that 16 individuals from Senegal, Nigeria, Yemen, Cameroon, and Bangladesh were sent to Morocco.
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Criticism of Spain's Policies
NGOs claim that these types of returns ignore the dangers faced by migrants in Morocco and contradict the values claimed by the leftist Spanish government. Virginia Alvarez, a researcher at Amnesty International, stated that Spain's position in this regard is hypocritical and emphasized that Spain cannot practically provide human rights guarantees for individuals crossing its borders.
A spokesperson for the Spanish Ministry of the Interior stated that Morocco is considered a safe country by the European Union and that the return of migrants is carried out "with all necessary precautions." However, no further details were provided on this matter.
In July, around 80,000 people crossed from Morocco to Ceuta, which is the only land border between Europe and Africa. While most of these individuals returned within a few days, thousands remain in Ceuta, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's government is under pressure from the European Union and desperate populations to resolve the Ceuta crisis before the elections on November 29.
Spanish authorities are currently holding 8,000 migrants in reception centers and are processing asylum requests for the majority of those who remain in Ceuta. Several NGOs, including Amnesty International, have reported to the Spanish prosecutor that some of the more than 13,000 individuals whom the government claimed returned to Morocco voluntarily were actually forced to leave, including non-Moroccans.
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