ASYLUM SEEKERS OVERWHELM UNHCR IN RABAT

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 000002 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE ALSO FOR G/TIP, INL/TIP, DRL/IL, DRL/BA, NEA/RA, IWI, PRM, NEA/ENA, AND G STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID GENEVA FOR RMA E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2015 TAGS: ELAB MO PHUM PREF PREL SMIG SOCI SUBJECT: ASYLUM SEEKERS OVERWHELM UNHCR IN RABAT Classified By: CDA Wayne Bush. Reason: 1.4 (G). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On November 30, Poloffs from Rabat and Casablanca met with UNHCR Head of Mission, Johannes van der Klaauw, at UNHCR headquarters in Rabat to discuss the status of refugee seekers in Morocco and UNHCR,s future plans. Van der Klaauw highlighted the challenges with the dramatic increase in number of asylum seekers in Morocco since last May and described UNHCR,s intentions concerning how to cope with the escalating numbers. He also described what he sees as a pressing need to establish a working dialogue with the GOM regarding its position on asylum seekers and the possibility of U.S. assistance in moving the discussion forward, given the fact that, according to Van der Clauw, the GOM will not allow individuals granted refugee status to remain in Morocco. END SUMMARY -------------- Numbers are Up -------------- ¶2. (U) On November 30, Poloffs met with the UNHCR Head of Mission, Johannes van der Klaauw, at his headquarters in Rabat. The newly arrived van der Klaauw is managing a staff of eight international coordinators in an effort to deal with the influx of asylum seekers flocking to the headquarters in ever increasing numbers since last May. The majority of the asylum seekers are from Sierra Leone, Algeria, Chad, Congo, Ivory Coast, Gambia and Tunisia. Van der Klaauw also told Poloffs that recently there has been an increase in the number of non-sub-Saharan asylum seekers, e.g., from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, arriving mainly via the Gulf Region. This group, however, constitutes a small percentage of the applicants. Numerous asylum seekers congregate throughout the week outside of UNHCR,s office just five minutes, walk from the US Embassy. ¶3. (SBU) In May 2005, according to Van der Klaauw, the number of asylum seekers appearing at UNHCR skyrocketed from a nominal amount to approximately 500 a month leading to a backlog of over 1700 hopeful refugees, the majority of whom it appears do not meet internationally established criteria for refugee status. Shortly after Van der Klaauw, s arrival this fall he set up a new system of preliminary interviews which has alleviated the backlog somewhat; Van der Klaauw hopes to eliminate the remaining backlog by early spring. -------------- GOM,s Handling of Refugees in Question -------------- ¶4. (C) Van der Klaauw explained that since 2000, UNHCR has recognized some 265 asylum seekers in Morocco as legitimate refugees, a number that may rise dramatically when all the new applicants, cases have been adjudicated. Other recognized refugees have been living in Morocco for nearly twenty years with little hope of relocation. Until recently, asylum seekers receiving refugee status have been issued Moroccan identification cards and been allowed to work throughout the country with limited difficulties. However, since the attacks on Sebta and Melilla in October (reftels),and the increase of sub-Saharans attempting to transit Morocco on their way to Europe, the situation has changed dramatically for asylum seekers and those recognized by UNHCR as refugees. Van der Klaauw said that the GOM has started to refuse to renew a number of expired ID cards for the legitimate refugees and that a number of lawful asylum seekers had been arrested and were being held in camps in both the north and south of the country. ¶5. (C) Van der Klaauw noted that in November, the GOM allowed a UNHCR team access to approximately 40 sub-Saharans, with preliminary UNHCR documentation, being held in a military camp in Guelmin in southern Morocco. After three days of interviews, the team recommended 11 for refugee status, including a minor and two women. According to the UN refugee agency the GOM cooperated with the arrangements, but Van der Klaauw said there are reports of abuse in the camps. He said there is at least one case in which a sub-Saharan woman, recognized by UNHCR as a refugee, had been arrested as an illegal immigrant and interned in the camp at Guelmin for two months before being released. Another serious concern for the international refugee organization is the camp at Nador, near the Spanish enclave of Melilla in northern Morocco. UNHCR suspected that there were legitmate asylum seekers being held in the camp but before they were allowed to follow-up the camp was nceremoniously closed and those being held were prsumably deported despite the possibility that soe of the detainees may have been legitimate refuees. Van der Klaauw also reported that he had heard complaints of abuse at the hands of Moroccan raffickers, sometimes used by sub-Saharans attempting to make their way north to Spain. ¶6. (C) Van der Klaauw explained that he had met with MFA and MOI officials concerning the handling of people given refugee status in general and about the 11 identified refugees in Guelmim in particular. He said the GOM had made it clear that UNHCR was welcome to continue interviewing asylum seekers (UNHCR had difficulty establishing contact with many illegal migrants even a few months ago, due to GOM sensitivities),but those given refugee status were not going to be permitted to remain in Morocco. Van der Klaauw said he was in a quandary since there was no resettlement program in Morocco. He said UNHCR was thinking about approaching &non-traditional8 resettlement countries such as Spain and Italy to explore the possibilities of a limited resettlement program in Morocco, but he was clearly eager to know what advice the US might have to offer in this regard. He anticipated that the issue of the Guelmim refugees would be taken up at a high level between UNHCR and the GOM, perhaps between Deputy HCR Chamberlin and Moroccan Deputy FM Fassi Fihri. ¶7. (C) In a follow-up discussion December 19, Van der Klaauw told Polcouns that he had been able to broker a & gentlemans agreement8 with the GOM to get the 11 refugees released from Guelmim. He said he had committed to the GOM to finding an international resettlement solution for this group and other refugees in Morocco. As for the other migrants in the Guelmin camp, Van der Klaauw believed they had been deported since the camp was now empty. It was not, Van der Klaauw said, the kind of &safe and dignified return8 UNHCR hoped for in such circumstances. Van der Klaauw said he would work on softening the Moroccan stance on refugees, convincing the GOM the problem is manageable and will not entail allowing thousands of people to remain in Morocco. Governor Khalid Zerouali, Director for International Cooperation and Director of Migration and Border Control at the Ministry of Interior, told DCM December 20th that the GOM had chartered 22 Royal Air Maroc flights to return clandestine migrants to various locations in West Africa, especially Senegal. In addition, the GOM had purchased some 300 airline tickets to repatriate small groups of migrants. -------------- GOM Concerns -------------- ¶8. (C) Polcouns sought clarification on GOM,s policy toward refugees in a meeting with Khalid Zerouali on December 7. Zerouali said the GOM believed the refugee and asylum seeker process in Morocco was rife with fraud, on the part of the applicants, and he said the GOM had legitimate security concerns about the migrant communities transiting Morocco. He was specially concerned about trafficking "mafias" and networks that were taking advantage of the migrants and could be using them to carry out criminal activity. He said he had underscored to UNHCR Rabat the importance of establishing a rigorous interviewing process to weed out fraudulent asylum seekers, armed with fake documents, from the legitimate refugees. Asked specifically whether the GOM would permit legitimate refugees to remain in Morocco, Zerouali said that was the MFA's domain. -------------- Morocco,s Dilemma -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Morocco signed and ratified the 1951 Convention on Refugees and the 1967 Protocol, which spell out states, responsibilities toward refugees, as well as the Organization of African Unity (OUA) Convention, regarding migration. However, the GOM has never developed legal procedures to deal with asylum seekers or refugees and is strongly opposed to establishing itself as a haven for displaced persons for fear of becoming even more of a magnet for those desperate to escape the problem in the sub-Saharan region. ¶10. (C) Currently, Van der Klaauw and UNHCR are working to establish a dialogue with the GOM regarding their position on asylum seekers. UNHCR is making an effort to encourage the GOM to adopt new laws covering refugees in accordance with the 1951 Convention which would determine procedures to manage the asylum issue. Van der Klaauw was very clear that he is stepping lightly regarding the matter. He also alluded to the fact that he is eager for support regarding the issue from other signatories of the Convention and the U.S. in particular. -------------- UNHCR,s Mission -------------- ¶11. (SBU) While waiting for Morocco to adopt new legislation to protect the internationally recognized rights of legitimate asylum seekers, UNHCR,s mission in Rabat appears determined to do everything it can to shield those it sees as potential refugees from arrest, detention and deportation. Currently the Rabat office is dealing with resettlement solutions for some of the 267 recognized refugees in Morocco, focusing on cases involving women and unaccompanied minors, who are the most vulnerable. UNHCR says many of the asylum seekers receive aid in Morocco from NGOs and charities, including church groups, while some seem to be managing on their own. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶12. (SBU) In recent months Morocco has been dealing with the issue of illegal sub-Saharan migrants on a large and public scale. The death of 11 migrants in October, outside the two Spanish enclaves in northern Morocco received international coverage and raised numerous questions about Morocco,s (and Spain,s) policies regarding the treatment of illegal migrants and asylum seekers. GOM officials portray Morocco as a &victim8 in the situation, forced to deal with thousands of illegals with limited resources and little or no assistance from abroad. While it is true Morocco is struggling to deal with the situation, it needs to recognize its obligations under international law. ¶13. (C) Post believes that while we should encourage the GOM where and as appropriate to meet its obligations under international law concerning refugees, we need to proceed cautiously in any discussions we have with the GOM about the possibility of international resettlement - whether in the US or in Europe. The last thing Morocco needs is to become a greater magnet for sub-Saharan or South Asian migrants. The country is already at the breaking point - as a transit country, country of origin, and a destination - for illegal migrants. ****************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat ****************************************** Riley