The president of the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME), Driss El Yazami, said on Tuesday in Marrakech that migration is a politically exploited issue in many countries and used in electoral campaigns.
Speaking during a session on “Global migration: the challenges of the North and the South”, on the occasion of the first international forum of young socialist and social-democrat parliamentarians, El Yazami indicated that the instrumentalization and media coverage of the migratory question make migration associated with crisis and tragedy and favor the anchoring of “the image of a north besieged by the countries of the south”.
The CCME President, however, noted that four out of five African migrants remain in Africa, rejecting the idea that people who go to rich countries are all poor and disadvantaged.
In this regard, he pointed out that countries are developing policies to attract foreign students, in the context of migration for studies and the battle for the quest for highly qualified skills, noting that nearly 20% of Moroccans residing in foreigners have a high level of education (bac+6).
With regard to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, El Yazami indicated that it was only signed by the countries of the South, calling for the denunciation of xenophobia and racism against migrants.
In this sense, he highlighted the signing in 2018 in Marrakech of the Global Compact for safe, orderly and regular migration, regretting the lack of enthusiasm of certain northern countries to implement it.
For his part, the Portuguese deputy Nelson Brito denounced the instrumentalization of the migration issue for political purposes, in particular far-right parties that convey received ideas about migrants, calling on countries and socialist parties around the world to put in place public policies focused on people and the guarantee of a dignified life for migrants.
Foreigners represent a tiny part of the population in each country, but actively contribute to its economy, he continued.
For his part, the former Malian parliamentarian Youssouf Aya maintained that candidates for migration are victims of migration policies contrary to international standards relating to human rights in the developed countries of the north towards which the peoples of the countries of the south movement for a minimum of well-being.
He also pleaded for the eradication of poverty, access to drinking water, health and education for all and social peace in the countries of the South, noting that the responsibility to ensure the well-being and a better future for the peoples of the South rests primarily with their governments.
Mexican MP Diana Barreras Samaniego called for the implementation of public policies at local, regional and national levels, capable of ensuring a dignified life and better economic conditions for populations to dissuade them from to emigrate, including better education and greater integration into the labor market.
The International Forum of Young Socialist and Social Democratic Parliamentarians, organized for three days by the Ittihadya Socialist-Opposition Group in the House of Representatives, in partnership with Ittihadya Youth and the “MENA-Latina” network, under the theme “contribution of young parliamentarians to the promotion of progressive and equitable public policies”, aims to encourage young parliamentarians to work together and analyze current issues and propose innovative and effective solutions, by promoting their skills in using new technologies and networks to mobilize and sensitize other actors to important causes, particularly those related to social justice, the environment and gender equality.
The sessions of this event, which will be sanctioned by the adoption of a general report and recommendations, focus on several themes, namely “peace and security in the world: new geopolitical challenges”, “inequalities, poverty and resource management : towards fairer social protection”, “progress or sustainability, how to reconcile the two”, “global migration: the challenges of the North and the South”, “United Nations approaches and mechanisms for the protection and promotion of human rights ‘Men’, ‘for more tolerant societies: combating hatred and extremism’, ‘more inclusive public policies: gender equality for inclusive development’, ‘awareness-raising and mobilization for inclusive public policies for youth “.