Morocco has not yet achieved the minimum requirements for the eradication of human trafficking, according to the latest UN report, 2023 Trafficking in Persons in Morocco.
The report emphasized Moroccan measures to stop human trafficking and considered the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on Moroccan anti-trafficking capabilities.
Morocco improved the data collecting and law enforcement to facilitate the procedure of identification of victims of trafficking.
The government authorized in March 2023 a new victim identification manual, an NRM, and a 2023–2030 anti–trafficking plan.
Morocco now has the highest trafficking convictions since 2001. Additionally, the government started prosecuting government officials for alleged involvement in offenses relating to human trafficking and child forced labor.
The government convicted officials who worked for the ministries of education and justice (MOJ) and at a government child protection center.
However, Morocco is yet to reach the UN standards due the lack of specialized housing and services for trafficking victims and the government’s failure to support organizations that provide victim services.
“Migrants in Morocco are exposed to punishment for illegal activities committed as a direct result of being trafficked, such as immigration offenses, due to a lack of proactive screening and identification mechanisms.” Said the report.
The UN report made a number of recommendations, including improving identification processes, putting in place a national victim referral system, and providing protection services for trafficking victims.
Furthermore, the report recommended increasing the availability of specialist services for populations at risk of human trafficking as well as the funding of NGOs who offer these services.
The UN advises the Moroccan government to implement national awareness-raising initiatives against trafficking.
The Moroccan government recorded the largest number of trafficking-specific convictions, with 101 trafficking convictions in 2022.
Migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa and Morocco who cross illegally into Spain’s Canary Islands, Melilla, and Cueta are at risk of being trafficked both in Morocco and in Europe.
One in three female migrants from North Africa have been sexually assaulted or subjected to gender-based violence while seeking to flee their home country, based on a recent study by Save the Children.
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