RABAT, Morocco – Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has criticised the Spanish government for failing to return unaccompanied minors and expel migrants who entered Ceuta illegally in July, asking why expulsion procedures have not been carried out for migrants in an irregular situation despite the Moroccan government having officially committed to readmitting them. The ministry also questioned why unaccompanied minors are being kept away from their families when Morocco has insistently demanded their return, in a statement released on Thursday.
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In the text, the ministry emphasised that migration cooperation between Spain and Morocco has always been coordinated and effective, adding that what happened at the end of July, when more than 80,000 people crossed illegally into Ceuta, requires in-depth study to determine its causes, identify those involved and denounce manoeuvres, with the aim of ensuring nothing similar happens again. Morocco also questioned being continually singled out over the events in the autonomous city and made clear it will not be a commercial asset on the eve of elections nor a scapegoat in political score-settling in Spain. It described as particularly regrettable that long-established political parties, despite their extensive experience in government, have fallen into this quagmire where irrational and populist escalation prevails over common sense.
The Foreign Ministry also expressed regret that prestigious institutions and judicial bodies are adopting misguided initiatives that fuel discord, stating that these actions form part of an intimidation strategy that harms everyone. Nevertheless, Morocco said it has chosen to maintain a relationship of good neighbourliness, political understanding, economic partnership and security cooperation with Spain, the clearest expression of which was the 2022 meeting between King Mohammed VI and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The joint declaration issued after that meeting enshrined a new stage in relations based on respect, trust, dialogue and the aspiration for a mutually beneficial partnership.
Finally, the ministry maintained that thanks to this new approach, both countries have managed to develop the ties that unite them and contain their differences to address them with serenity and respect, far from any tendency to impose fait accompli. It recalled that Spain is Morocco’s first strategic partner and Rabat is Madrid’s second trading partner outside the European Union, and that their security cooperation has saved lives and dismantled terrorist and criminal networks, often at the cost of human and material losses suffered by Moroccan forces.
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This is not the first time Morocco has publicly asked Spain to return the unaccompanied migrant minors who crossed the border irregularly. In an interview published in mid-August, Moroccan Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi told Efe that Rabat wanted its minors back, saying they wanted all their children returned as the school year approaches and the children must go back to their schools, adding that they do not know what is happening to them in Spain and have received complaints of rape and assault as well as reports of some of them disappearing.
