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Join on Telegram Rabat – William Lacy Swing, the Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), spoke highly of Morocco’s “humanist and exemplary regional and continental” policy on immigration and asylum Thursday in Skhirat.
Morocco’s migration policy has made considerable progress over the four years since its implementation in guaranteeing the rights of migrants and refugees and ensuring their integration in society, becoming a “pioneer in the region” in terms of immigration, said Swing.
The initiative “reflects Morocco’s willingness to humanely integrate migrants” stated Swing at a meeting organized by the Ministry in charge of Moroccans Living Abroad and Migration Affairs celebrating the fourth anniversary of the launching of the national immigration and asylum policy.
The four years of work on migration policy is already bearing fruit on an international scale, as Morocco is co-chairing along with Germany the 11th summit Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), in Marrakech in December 2018.
Minister of Justice Mohamed Aujjar sees that while migration is often portrayed negatively, Morocco is determined to positively manage the movement of peoples for the country’s development and growth, assuring that “the future is in Africa.”
To ensure that the policy develops progressively, the IOM is working closely with the various stakeholders involved in migration to better implement Morocco’s policy and introduce it to an international landscape.
Morocco’ “leading role in driving for positive change” in migration policy is endorsed and supported by the IOM, which is sharing its 56 years of expertise with governmental and non-governmental actors for the integration of migration into key sectors such as health and education, stated Swing.
The director said that “capitalizing on Morocco’s migration policy is important,” particularly since the country is responsible for managing migration in the African Union.
Driss Yazami, president of the National Council of Human Rights (CNDH), asserted that while migration policy is often considered to a purely Western concern, Morocco proves otherwise, precisely because of its developing migration policy which seeks to strategically integrate migrants in the country.
The key event brought together African states representatives, academic experts and researchers, representatives of the private sector, civil society organizations, and international organizations. They presented the results of the national consultations on the Global Compact for Migration and to highlight the main achievements regarding the implementation of the National Strategy for Immigration and Asylum during the period 2016-2017, as well as to discuss the fundamental challenges on migratory policies.
On September 10, 2013, King Mohamed VI held a meeting with Minister of Interior Mhand El Anssar and some human rights stakeholders to adopt Morocco’s migration and asylum policy and allow the possibility of asylum for foreign residents in the kingdom, especially migrants.
The decision was regarded as a turning point in Morocco’s view towards human rights for undocumented residents, mainly sub-Saharan migrants who are originally from countries like Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Guinea.
