Washington- Following King Mohammed VI’s meeting with members of the government during which he called on the “competent authorities to ensure the respect of the rights of migrants, to comply strictly with the law in their treatment without discrimination, and to provide assistance to those wishing to return to their country, in line with the National Human Rights Council’s [NHRC] recommendations," the Sub-Saharan community has expressed its satisfaction with the government's recent reaction to the immigration question—according to a le 360 Maroc report.
Due to reports of racism, violence, and widespread discrimination against Sub-Saharan immigrants living and working in Morocco, the NHRC issued formal recommendations to the government to reform the immigration and asylum policy in the Kingdom. The report called for a better respect of migrants legal residence and right to asylum, fair access to the Moroccan justice system, and the right of migrants and refugees to work, have access to health, to freedom of movement, and the right to join Moroccan unions.
After meeting with the government, the King “gave his orders to the Government to immediately devise and implement a strategy and an appropriate action plan in coordination with the NHRC and the various stakeholders, with a view to devising a comprehensive policy on immigration,” according to the news agency MAP.
News of the announcement was met with “satisfaction” on the part of African embassies in Rabat and representatives of the Sub-Saharan community. The new reform is just one step in the long line of recommendations that the NHRC put forth.
Now, other members of the migrant community in Morocco are calling for Morocco to implement all of the recommendations. Marcel Amiyeto, a Congolese refugee and secretary-general of the migrant workers faction of the Democratic Organization of Workers(ODT), noted that “The favorable agreement of King Mohamed VI, following the report that was submitted by the NHRC, gives us hope for a better tomorrow… knowing the humanistic sense of our sovereign King of Morocco, we believe that our rights are respected and that Morocco will remain a hospitable country, (and) home.”
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