Mr. Omar Azziman
Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice
Place Mamounia
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 who were abused in Ceuta and Melilla and then summarily expelled to Morocco, where Moroccan police beat and ill-treated them. Instead of returning children to their families or a social welfare agency, Moroccan police detained even young children for hours—at times with unrelated adults—then released them on unfamiliar streets, sometimes late at night. The report also notes with concern provisions in Morocco’s Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedures that criminalize vagrancy and begging, a lack of clear sentencing guidelines and adequate alternatives to incarceration, and a lack of appropriate facilities for children living outside a family environment or convicted of crimes.

I urge you to introduce legislation clarifying the legal obligation of all Moroccan authorities, including the police, to provide special protection and assistance to children deprived of their family environment, including provisions for adequate alternative care and rehabilitation. The Ministry should also promote amendments to the Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedures ensuring that the best interest of the child is a primary consideration in all proceedings, that sentencing guidelines provide judges with adequate alternatives to incarceration, and that children are exempt from criminal penalties for begging, vagrancy, and other minor offenses stemming from their status as unaccompanied minors. Finally, I call on you to institute training of members of the prosecution office and judiciary on the special needs and rights of unaccompanied migrant children.

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

Sincerely,