Spanish authorities started, on Friday, deporting unaccompanied Moroccan minors from Santa Amelia juvenile center, where 234 of the Moroccan minors who had entered Ceuta irregularly are housed since May, to The Martil Social Assistance Center in Martil, Morocco.
“It started on Friday, 15 children were deported in a city bus from Cueta to Martil social assistance center. The next day, another group of fifteen joined them.” Mohammed Benaissa, the spokesman of Moroccan Northern Observatory for Human Rights (ONDH), told Hespress English.
Since the repatriations of minors began Friday afternoon after the agreement between Spain and Morocco, both NGOs and some political parties denounced the deportations.
Amnesty International spokesman Angel Gonzalo stated that these expulsions violate international law, asking Spanish authorities to stop the deportation immediately and to show more transparency over their actions.
Mohamed Benaissa, in his statement to Hespress English, explained the organized collective deportation of Moroccan minors, “the Moroccan and Spanish agreement to deport minors from Cueta to Morocco is an administrative decision under the 2007 agreement between Morocco and Spain to cooperate in fighting illegal immigration of minors.”
“These actions abuse the international human rights laws and children rights covenants” he criticized.
Faced with this situation, the Association Coordinator of Neighborhoods for the Monitoring of Minors and Young People requested the Spanish Police, Ceuta Government Delegation and the Service for the Protection of Minors be required “to refrain from carrying out any act aimed at the repatriation, return or delivery of the minors” while the file of the very precautionary measure is being processed.
The Prosecutor’s Office supported the suspension requested. It points out in its report that the only legal basis for the return is an official letter from the Secretary of State for Security “without signature” in which it is said that the repatriation will be carried out by Article 5 of the Agreement between Spain and the Kingdom of Morocco on cooperation in the field of preventing the illegal emigration of unaccompanied minors. The same article states that it can only be done “with strict observance of Spanish legislation, the norms and principles of international law and the provisions of the Convention on the rights of the child.”
“In the present case, from the documentary provided, there is no evidence of the procedure that our immigration legislation requires for the repatriation of unaccompanied minors,” says the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Despite all these efforts, The Court of First Instance and Instruction 2 of Ceuta has rejected the precautionary suspension.
Hundreds of unaccompanied minors were among 10,000 people who tried to enter Ceuta in May by scaling a border fence or swimming around it. Morocco has since taken back most of the adult migrants.
The crisis took place after Spain agreed to provide medical treatment for the Polisario leader Brahim Ghali. Rabat reacted furiously and recalled its ambassador in Madrid, with Spain accusing Morocco of tolerating illegal immigration and using immigrants as a diplomatic weapon.
On the current situation, Spanish and Moroccan ministries have kept their silence regarding the recent deportation of minors.
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