Spain deports African, Asian asylum seekers to Morocco amid rights group outcry

Madrid: Spain has returned over a dozen sub-Saharan African and Asian migrants from Ceuta to Morocco for the first time since a mass border crossing in July, amid growing outcry from rights groups over the practice. The interior ministry stated the group was sent back to Morocco once Morocco agreed to receive them, but the number and nationalities of the deportees have not been disclosed.

Human rights organizations operating in Ceuta, such as Amnesty International, claim that such returns disregard the dangers posed by Morocco's treatment of migrants and contradict Spain's leftist government's commitments to human rights. Virginia Alvarez, an Amnesty International researcher, denounced Spain's "hypocrisy," arguing that the country is failing to ensure human rights for individuals crossing its borders in Ceuta and Melilla.

Morocco's interior ministry has not commented on the matter, while the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which cooperates with Moroccan authorities on voluntary return programs, confirmed it does not participate in deportations or forced removals. Spain's government maintains that Morocco is deemed a safe country by the EU, and deportations are carried out with all necessary safeguards.

The crisis in Ceuta has put pressure on Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, to address the issue before elections on November 29, as over 48 hours in July saw more than 80,000 people crossing into Ceuta from Morocco. Authorities are currently housing 8,000 migrants in reception centers and processing asylum applications from the majority of people remaining in Ceuta.