« Under the leadership of HM 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 High Instruction of HM the King, in the International Conference on Development and Migration, chaired by the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.
The Royal Vision is reflected not only in the National Policy on Migration and Asylum, but also in the African Agenda on Migration that HM the King presented in His capacity as AU Leader on the issue of Migration, said the Minister, noting that this Agenda considers migration as a factor in bringing populations and civilizations closer together, and aims to make migration a lever for co-development, a pillar of South-South cooperation and a vector of solidarity.
According to Bourita, “Morocco does not treat migration as a theoretical issue, but as a lived reality”. « The Kingdom has provided concrete responses at national, inter-regional, continental and multilateral levels, despite a number of challenges”, he pointed out.
At national level, Morocco has developed good practices in migrant integration, notably the two regularization operations, the introduction of responsible and humane border management, and the health protection of migrants during the COVID19 pandemic, he said, adding that at continental level, the Kingdom has hosted the African Observatory on Migration, set up in 2021.
At the inter-regional level, Morocco was the precursor in 2006 of the Euro-African Dialogue on Migration and Development, known as the Rabat Process, which it currently chairs, and the initiator of the first practical roadmap for implementing the Marrakech Compact, which was initiated within the framework of the 5+5 Mediterranean Dialogue, added the Minister.
On the multilateral level, Morocco is the moral depositary of the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, known as the Marrakech Compact, since it hosted the Conference at which it was adopted and was recognized as one of the first Champions of its implementation, he noted.
In accordance with the High Royal Instructions, Morocco will contribute to the Rome Process, the Minister stressed, indicating that he had maintained constant exchanges with the Italian presidency of the meeting so that the conclusions of the meeting could reflect the positions it defends.
These include the African Agenda for Migration, presented by the Sovereign and adopted by the African Heads of State, in January 2018, the balance between the different dimensions of migration, regular and irregular, through enshrining the positive narrative on migration and the importance of channels for legal migration and the enshrinement of African priorities in this area, particularly for increased solidarity towards the continent, explained Bourita.
He added that the Kingdom also supports the establishment of shared responsibility for the effective management of migration and the non-singularization of transit countries, the integration of the Euro-African Dialogue on Migration and Development that Morocco initiated in 2006, a clearer reference to the standards of international law, in particular human rights and humanitarian law, and the elimination of intrusive concepts such as “hot spots”.
The conclusions also included recognition of the UN Migration Compact, adopted in Marrakech in 2018, as well as its revision process, to which Morocco has made an active and substantial contribution, he said.
The event, organized on the initiative of the Italian government under the theme “Commitments and shared solutions for the Mediterranean and Africa”, was attended by 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.
According to the Italian Council of Ministers, the conference intends to launch an international roadmap for the implementation of concrete measures for growth and development throughout the Mediterranean and Africa, tackle the root causes of irregular migratory flows to overcome the criminal activities of human traffickers, and find solutions to protect the environment and meet the challenges of energy diversification and climate change.
