The number of asylum applications in Morocco reached 2514, filed by people from various countries, mainly sub-Saharan, according to official data obtained by MoroccoLatestNews.
The same data, relating to the outcome of the period between September 25, 2013, and December 14, 2022, indicate that the Moroccan authorities recognized about 1,144 asylum seekers and granted them refugee status.
Moroccan authorities grant 1,144 foreigners refugee status as asylum law pends release
The same source confirmed that about 65% of these refugees come mainly from three sub-Saharan countries: Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic.
Despite Morocco’s success in building and refining its legal arsenal, the asylum law stands out, with a group of human rights advocates urging for the enactment of Law 66.17, which restricts the procedures and conditions for requesting asylum in Morocco.
Hassan Balouan, a researcher in international relations, told MoroccoLatestNews that “the failure of the General Secretariat of the government to release this law negatively affects the achievements made by Morocco in the field of human rights, especially since there are major internal and external changes that keep pace with immigration, migrants, and their rights.”
Balouan stressed that “Morocco’s transformation from a transit country for migrants to a country of residence increases the complexity of the procedures for obtaining refugee status; Although it adopted a participatory approach with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Rabat, it remains a complex and single approach that does not meet the demands in all cities and regions.”
According to the same spokesman, despite the National Council for Human Rights demand and call for the aforementioned law to enter into force as soon as possible, it is still being studied and is subject to careful calculations that take into account the Moroccan Constitution as well as relevant international agreements, particularly the 1951 Convention for the Protection of the Rights of Refugees.