Mr. Mohamed Benaissa
Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Co-operation
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Co-operation
Avenue Roosevelt
Rabat
Morocco

Dear Minister,

I am writing to express my concern about abuses of children in Ceuta and Melilla described in the Human Rights Watch report, Nowhere to Turn: State Abuses of Unaccompanied Migrant Children by Spain and Morocco. The report documents cases of Moroccan children in Ceuta and Melilla who were beaten or ill-treated by Spanish police, abused by staff and other children in residential centers, and denied health, education, and other benefits guaranteed them in Spanish law. In many cases children were summarily expelled to Morocco, where Moroccan police beat and ill-treated them before releasing them on unfamiliar streets, sometimes late at night.

I urge you to ensure that Moroccan embassies and consulates monitor the situation of unaccompanied Moroccan migrant children abroad and provide them with consular services. Consular services should include responding to foreign governments’ requests for assistance in determining children’s family situations in Morocco, and facilitating repatriation when repatriation is in the child’s best interest.

I look forward to receiving your reply, and thank you for your attention to this important human rights matter.

Sincerely,