Association denounces restrictions on Moroccan workers forbidden from spending nights in Ceuta and Melilla

A Spanish association alerted to heavy restrictions on the mobility of cross-border Moroccan workers who have not been able to spend nights in Ceuta and Melilla since the borders between Morocco and Spain opened after more than two years of closure.

panish Association for Human Rights of Andalusia raised concern for the hundreds of workers who are now obliged to return to border towns Tetouan and Nador after a full day of work in the Spanish enclaves. Many lost jobs and others refuse to return to Morocco in fear of being unable to return, reported Spanish media La Verdad De Ceuta.

“The truth is that desperation and abandonment are rampant among a group already punished,” said the association.

The organization recalls that the limitations do not apply to the residents of Ceuta and Melilla.

Recently, an agreement in which it was recognized that there was a “specific visa exemption regime for small border traffic between Ceuta and Melilla and the Moroccan provinces of Tetouan and Nador,” has been annulled.

The organization explained that Moroccan citizens who had a passport issued in the wilayas of Tetouan or Nador do not need a visa to enter the cities of Ceuta or Melilla, following the annulment of the decision.

The only limitation is that the workers are not able to not spend the night in the enclaves.

The Spanish association stated that the international agreement to give those specific Moroccan residents access to the Spanish enclaves has been signed by 22 countries.

The organization concluded by calling this a violation of historical rights to circulate among the autonomous cities.

Last June, over 220 Moroccan cross-border workers were strained in the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, following the forced conditions in question.

Moroccan cross-border workers said they face the most inequitable working conditions: they work more, pay more taxes, get less pay, and are underprivileged compared to their Spanish counterparts, according to a statement seen by Hespress EN.