Rabat – Morocco has reaffirmed its commitment to working with Spain and other European partners to identify and facilitate the return of unaccompanied Moroccan minors, rejecting claims that it has failed to cooperate on the issue.
According to a Moroccan diplomatic source, the North African country’s position is based on Royal Instructions issued to the Ministries of the Interior and Foreign Affairs, which call for the identification of unaccompanied minors with a view to their return to Morocco.
The source said Morocco remains ready to coordinate with Spanish and European authorities to carry out the repatriation process, emphasizing that Rabat has consistently honored its commitments in the field of migration cooperation.
The statement comes amid renewed debate in Spain over irregular migration and the presence of unaccompanied foreign minors. The diplomatic source expressed regret that, whenever migration becomes a political issue, some voices accuse Morocco of refusing to cooperate or of being unwilling to accept the return of unaccompanied minors.
According to the source, such allegations are “false and unfounded” and fail to reflect the realities of the repatriation process.
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The source argued that the main obstacles to returning unaccompanied minors are administrative and judicial procedures in partner countries, rather than any lack of cooperation on Morocco’s part.
Morocco, the source added, cannot accept what it described as the use of these claims as a political tool to suggest the country is unwilling to address the issue.
The diplomatic source called on European partners to address legal and administrative barriers within their own systems if they wish to facilitate the return of unaccompanied minors, stressing that closer institutional cooperation is essential to advancing repatriation efforts.
The statement asserts Morocco’s position that migration management and the return of unaccompanied minors require coordinated action between countries of origin and destination, rather than political accusations.
Spain is seeking to transfer more than 1,000 unaccompanied migrant children from the occupied city of Ceuta to mainland Spain after a record migration surge overwhelmed local shelters, prompting Madrid to release €25 million in emergency funding to support the relocation effort.
The funding, announced by Spain’s Ministry of Youth and Children, will be distributed among the country’s autonomous regions to help accommodate the minors and expand child protection services.
Although most have since returned to Morocco, approximately 1,100 unaccompanied minors remain in the enclave because Spanish law prevents their immediate return and requires individual child protection procedures
