Doha – The Spanish National Court has ruled that poverty in Morocco does not qualify as grounds for receiving asylum in Spain.
The court also denied subsidiary protection to a Moroccan man who swam to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, stating that Morocco is not experiencing a “serious armed conflict of an ethnic or religious nature.”
In its ruling, the court rejected an appeal from a Moroccan citizen who entered Ceuta by swimming during the irregular migration crisis in May of 2021. The man had sought both asylum and subsidiary protection in Spain.
According to Spanish media reports, the court found that “the alleged situation of poverty or needs of a labor and economic nature” are not sufficient to constitute membership in a particular social group, a key criteria for asylum.
The court described the appellant’s claim of “terror of dying from not being able to feed himself” as “forced.”
The verdict stated that “the need to seek a better life” does not fit into any of the situations outlined in the Geneva Convention or the law regulating the right to asylum and subsidiary protection in Spain.
So far in 2024, about one thousand Moroccan citizens have sought asylum in Ceuta, surpassing the combined total of 883 applicants over the previous two years.
The Spanish government rejects over 90% of these requests. However, while their cases are being processed, asylum seekers have the right to move freely within Spanish territory.
Read also: European Parliament Approves Harsh New Migration Pact
