Morocco: Government grants access to 40 sub-Saharans with UNHCR documentation

On Wednesday last week, UNHCR in Morocco was given access to more than 40 sub-Saharans with UNHCR documentation currently in Guelmin in the southern part of the country. The 40 were on a list of 85 people of concern that UNHCR had given to the Moroccan authorities two weeks earlier. A team of three UNHCR staff spent three days interviewing the individuals in a civilian location close to the Guelmin camp. Their claims for refugee status are currently being assessed.

Later this week, UNHCR hopes to get access to Nador camp near the Spanish enclave of Melilla to interview other individuals on the list. In cooperation with the Moroccan authorities, we are trying to identify the location of the remaining persons of concern.

Meanwhile, we are continuing to receive asylum requests in Rabat. We are reviewing our internal asylum procedures so as to more rapidly and transparently identify asylum seekers with valid claims. We hope to clear our backlog of 1,700 pending cases in the coming weeks. Since 2000, a total of 265 people in Morocco have been recognised as refugees.