Amnesty International Condemns Spain and Morocco for Migrant Abuses in Ceuta Crisis

The Spanish representation of Amnesty International has denounced the forced expulsions orchestrated by the Spanish authorities of children and asylum seekers in Ceuta, considering the abuses, mistreatment and violence perpetrated by the Spanish security forces and the army "intolerable", "going so far as to throw people into the sea, including children".

Against Rabat, the humanitarian organization notes that Morocco is playing with people’s lives by using its own citizens as people to settle a political cause. Based on a video that it claims to have verified on the ground, Virginia Álvarez, a researcher at Amnesty International Spain, states that Moroccan officials actively participated in allowing migrants or asylum seekers to cross the border. Worse, she claims, the Moroccan Ministry of Human Rights posted a message on Facebook announcing the opening of the borders to Ceuta. This act, the researcher specifies, occurred in retaliation for the hospitalization in Spain on April 18 of the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, suffering from Covid-19.

In terms of responsibility, Amnesty International through its Spanish representation calls on the European Union, which it accuses of turning a blind eye to the drama unfolding in Ceuta. Indeed, explains Virginia Álvarez, the European leaders who had quickly reacted by offering their support to Spain and recalling that the Spanish borders are part of the borders of the European Union, are entitled to also consider the human rights violations committed by Spain in this area of Europe.

Regarding the expulsion of migrants in Ceuta, the international NGO condemns the illegal expulsion procedures in place. According to researcher Álvarez, forced expulsions have taken place without any necessary guarantees and many vulnerable people have not been identified and have not been able to receive legal assistance or apply for asylum. "This expulsion procedure represents a denial of their right to a fair and individualized examination of their asylum application," fumes the Amnesty International Spain researcher. Because, she points out, "any arrival, however massive, can in no way justify illegal collective expulsions," noting that among the 5,000 people summarily expelled, there could be people eligible for asylum or in need of protection.

The NGO recalls that in the past, illegal operations have been observed, including arrests and the relocation to southern Morocco of migrants or asylum seekers found in camps and houses near the Spanish border.