A/67/44
services. It should also raise public awareness of positive, participatory and nonviolent forms of discipline.
Treatment of refugees and asylum seekers
(25) The Committee takes note of the information furnished by the State party
concerning its increased cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which has included capacity-building activities
with regard to the admission, identification and protection of asylum seekers and refugees
by the State party. It is nonetheless disturbed by the absence of a specific legal framework
for refugees and asylum seekers that would differentiate them from undocumented
migrants. The Committee is concerned by the fact that, as things now stand, asylum seekers
are not always in a position to file their request for asylum with the proper authorities. This
is particularly the case at points of entry into Moroccan territory, where asylum seekers are
often treated as if they were undocumented immigrants. The Committee is also concerned
by the absence of a specific office for the efficient processing of applications for asylum
from refugees and stateless persons and of safeguards for all the rights of refugees while on
Moroccan territory (arts. 2, 3 and 16).
The State party should establish a legal framework to safeguard the rights of refugees
and asylum seekers and should develop institutional and administrative instruments
for their protection by, inter alia, increasing its cooperation with the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and allowing UNHCR to
take part in the reform of the asylum system as an observer. The State party should
see to it that procedures and mechanisms are put in place for the systematic
identification of potential asylum seekers at all points of entry into Moroccan
territory. The State party should allow such persons to submit applications for
asylum. These mechanisms should also ensure that decisions concerning asylum
requests are subject to appeal, that such appeals have suspensive effect, and that no
one is returned to a country where there is a risk of torture.
The State party should consider becoming a party to the Convention relating to the
Status of Stateless Persons of 1954 and the Convention on the Reduction of
Statelessness of 1961.
Treatment of migrants and foreign nationals
(26) The Committee takes note of the information supplied by the State party regarding
the legal provisions governing the expulsion of undocumented migrants, particularly Act
No. 02-03 on the entry and residence of foreign nationals in Morocco, and the examples it
has provided of instances in which foreign nationals have been expelled in accordance with
the provisions of that law. It is nevertheless concerned by reports that undocumented
migrants have been escorted to the border or otherwise expelled in violation of Moroccan
law without having been given the opportunity to exercise their rights. Several allegations
have been made that hundreds of migrants have been abandoned in the desert without food
or water. The Committee deeply regrets the State party’s failure to provide information
about these events or about the places and regimes of detention used for foreign nationals
awaiting deportation that do not come under the authority of the Prison Service. The
Committee also deeply regrets the lack of information about any inquiries that may have
been made into the violence committed by law enforcement personnel against
undocumented migrants in the vicinity of the Ceuta and Melilla enclaves in 2005 (arts. 3,
12, 13 and 16).
The State party should take steps to ensure that the legal safeguards governing the
practice of escorting undocumented migrants to the border and the expulsion of
foreign nationals are effectively enforced and that such practices and expulsions are
carried out in accordance with Moroccan law. It should undertake impartial, effective
GE.12-44492
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