Bourita: Morocco is a prominent participant in Mediterranean migrant governance

Nasser Bourita, the minister of foreign affairs, african cooperation, and Moroccan expatriates, stated on Sunday in Rome that Morocco has distinguished itself as a major participant in the management of migration in the Mediterranean.

« Under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, Morocco has accumulated proven experience in the governance of migratory flows over more than two decades”, the Minister told MAP, at the end of his participation, under the King, in the International Conference on Development and Migration, chaired by the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.

The Minister noted that the African Agenda on Migration, which the King presented in His capacity as the AU Leader on the issue of Migration, reflects the Royal Vision and that it aims to make migration a lever for co-development, a pillar of South-South cooperation, and a vector of solidarity. This Agenda considers migration as a factor in bringing populations and civilizations closer together.

Morocco “does not treat migration as a theoretical issue, but as a lived reality,” claims Bourita. Despite a multitude of obstacles, he noted, “The Kingdom has provided concrete responses at national, inter-regional, continental, and multilateral levels.”

He added that the two regularization operations, the implementation of responsible and humane border management, and the health protection of migrants during the COVID19 pandemic were examples of good practices in migrant integration Morocco has developed at the national level. At the continental level, the Kingdom has also hosted the African Observatory on Migration, which was established in 2021.

Morocco initiated the first concrete implementation roadmap for the Marrakech Compact, which was initiated within the framework of the 5+5 Mediterranean Dialogue, and was the precursor in 2006 of the Euro-African Dialogue on Migration and Development, known as the Rabat Process, which it currently chairs, added the Minister.

Since it hosted the Conference where it was adopted and was acknowledged as one of the first Champions of its implementation, Morocco is the moral depositary of the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration, also known as the Marrakech Compact, he said.

The Minister emphasized that Morocco will contribute to the Rome Process in accordance with the High Royal Instructions, noting that he had been in close communication with the Italian president of the meeting so that its viewpoints may be reflected in the meeting’s conclusions.

These include the African Agenda for Migration, which was presented by the Sovereign and adopted by the African Heads of State in January 2018, the balance between the various dimensions of migration, both legal and illegal, through enshrining the positive narrative on migration and the importance of channels for legal migration, as well as the enshrining of African priorities in this area, particularly for increased solidarity towards the continent, according to Bourita.

The integration of the Euro-African Dialogue on Migration and Development, which Morocco started in 2006, a clearer reference to the standards of international law, in particular human rights and humanitarian law, and the elimination of invasive concepts like “hot spots” are all supported, he continued. The Kingdom also supports the establishment of shared responsibility for the effective management of migration and the non-singularization of transit countries.

The UN Migration Compact, which was ratified in Marrakech in 2018 and whose renewal process Morocco actively and significantly participated in, was also acknowledged in the conclusions, he added.

Leaders from States on the southern shore of the enlarged Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Gulf, European Union member states, a number of countries from the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, as well as heads of European institutions and international financial institutions, attended the event, which was organized at the initiative of the Italian government under the theme “Commitments and shared solutions for the Mediterranean and Africa.”

The conference, according to the Italian Council of Ministers, aims to establish a global roadmap for the implementation of concrete measures for growth and development throughout the Mediterranean and Africa, address the causes of irregular migration flows to stop human traffickers’ illegal activities, find solutions to protect the environment and address the challenges of energy diversification and climate change, and tackle the root causes of irregular migration flows.

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