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Morocco: More Than 12,000 Illegal Migrants Held in 2021

A Spanish soldier helps a migrant after his arrival at a beach in the Ceuta enclave, in the north of Morocco, on Sunday (EPA)
A Spanish soldier helps a migrant after his arrival at a beach in the Ceuta enclave, in the north of Morocco, on Sunday (EPA)
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Morocco: More Than 12,000 Illegal Migrants Held in 2021

A Spanish soldier helps a migrant after his arrival at a beach in the Ceuta enclave, in the north of Morocco, on Sunday (EPA)
A Spanish soldier helps a migrant after his arrival at a beach in the Ceuta enclave, in the north of Morocco, on Sunday (EPA)

Moroccan police said Monday they had arrested more than 12,000 people trying to leave the country illegally since the start of the year and had also dismantled 150 smuggling networks.

In a statement carried by the official MAP agency, the Directorate General of National Security said it had detained "415 organizers and mediators and 12,231 candidates for illegal immigration" and dismantled "150 criminal networks active in organizing illegal immigration".

Mainland Spain is only about 20 kilometers from Morocco, making it a target for those fleeing poverty or conflicts elsewhere in Africa or even further afield.

Officers also seized "752 forged travel documents, 67 inflatable boats and 47 engines, and 65 vehicles", AFP quoted MAP as saying.

The year's figures relate only to police operations, and do not include naval interceptions of migrants headed to Spain.

A military source said the Moroccan coastguard aided around 330 migrants between November 12 and 15 in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

At the end of September, the UN's International Organization for Migration said 2021 had been "the deadliest year on the migratory route to Spain", with more than 1,000 fatalities.

Other North African countries, Tunisia and Libya, are also major migrant departure points to Europe.

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UN General Assembly Asks Court to Say What Israel Needs to Provide in Gaza

The UN General Assembly often finds itself taking up measures that cannot get through the Security Council due to political concerns. JOHN ANGELILLO / POOL/AFP/File
The UN General Assembly often finds itself taking up measures that cannot get through the Security Council due to political concerns. JOHN ANGELILLO / POOL/AFP/File
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UN General Assembly Asks Court to Say What Israel Needs to Provide in Gaza

The UN General Assembly often finds itself taking up measures that cannot get through the Security Council due to political concerns. JOHN ANGELILLO / POOL/AFP/File
The UN General Assembly often finds itself taking up measures that cannot get through the Security Council due to political concerns. JOHN ANGELILLO / POOL/AFP/File

The UN General Assembly approved a resolution Thursday asking the UN’s highest court to state what Israel’s obligations are in Gaza and the West Bank to provide humanitarian assistance essential for the survival of Palestinian civilians.
The vote on the Norwegian-sponsored resolution seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice was 137-12, with 22 abstentions. The United States, Israel's closest ally, voted against the resolution.
Resolutions in the 193-member General Assembly are not legally binding, though they do reflect world opinion, The Associated Press said.
It follows the ICJ’s condemnation of Israel’ s rule over lands it captured 57 years ago. In a nonbinding opinion in July, the court said Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful and called on Israel to end its occupation and halt settlement construction immediately.
Thursday's resolution also follows Israeli laws passed in late October, which take effect in 90 days, that effectively ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, from operating in the Palestinian territories.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has stressed that no other UN agency can take on UNRWA's role, and a UN spokesman reiterated Thursday that under international law, as the occupying power, Israel would be responsible for fulfilling the basic needs of Palestinians if UNRWA is banned.
Norway’s deputy foreign minister, Andreas Kravik, told reporters that the international community has a responsibility to react to tens of thousands of deaths in Gaza and virtually the entire population experiencing acute hunger, and some near famine.
He said many countries, the UN and its agencies, and aid organizations are ready to step up their humanitarian efforts but the problem is “there’s a lack of access.”
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told the assembly before the vote that its members were debating “the same recycled nonsense, where all that matters is attacking Israel and challenge its right to protect its citizens.”
“This time the Palestinians are using a new tool in this diplomatic circus: the International Court of Justice,” he said.
The resolution demands that Israel comply with all its legal obligations under international law, including by the UN's top court.
It expresses concern about the Israeli legislation on UNRWA and Israeli measures to impede assistance to the Palestinians.
The resolution seeks the ICJ’s guidance on additional questions about its July ruling, including what Israel's obligations are “to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population.”