Refugee Legal Aid Program in Morocco
Plan
1)Current frame of asylum and refugee status determination in Morocco:
A refugee is a person who fears persecution because of her race, her religion, her nationality, her political opinions or her membership of a particular social group and can’t get protection from his country.
Morocco is one of the few Muslim and Arab countries to become a party to the international Treaties relating to the protection of refugees: the Geneva Convention, its Protocol and theConvention governing the specific aspects of refugee problems in Africa.
Important: the new 2011 Moroccan Constitution recognizes the supremacy ofTreaties over laws.
Morocco is now a country of both transit and destination for migrants, including many refugees from Congo (RDC),the Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea, Central African Republicand more recently Syria.Subsaharian migrants, but also migrants from Arab countries are in dire need of protection.
Since 2007, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Rabat was responsible for RSD in Morocco. To date, they have recognized around 870 migrants as refugees, which is only nine percent of those who apply for asylum in the country.
On September 2013, the Moroccan National Human Rights Council issued an important report calling for "a radically new asylum and immigration policy".
The King Mohammed VI immediately gave his instructions to the government for reforms.
Regarding asylum, the immediate consequences were the end of UNHCR activities in terms of asylum seekers registration and RSD and the opening of the Moroccan Office for Refugees and Stateless Persons on September 25.
Thisreflects the intention of the Moroccan authorities to quickly implement a national, legal and operational system, which will allow people persecuted in their country to find protection and security in Morocco.
Currently, thepriority of the Moroccan Office for Refugees and Stateless Persons is to review and validate cases of refugees previously recognized by UNHCR Morocco.
This work is done by an ad hoc committee composed of a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a representative of the Interior, a representative of the Ministry of Justice, a representative of the National Human Rights Council, a representative of the Interministerial Delegation for Human Rights and a representative of the UNHCR.
This is a very important step in the protection of refugees in Morocco.
Previously, refugees just got a refugee card issued by the UNHCR, which is not a residence permit.
Regarding the Moroccan law, they were illegal.
The new system will allow recognized refugees to receive a residence permit in Morocco, which will allow them to work in the formal sector, to access to public services or to legally rent an apartment. So: a better opportunity of integration in their host country.
This new system will also make it possible for a better protection for refugees and living conditions equivalent to those of Moroccan nationals, as provided in the Geneva Convention.
Although a lot remains to be done to ensure full integration of refugees in the country, these recent developments have given hope to refugees,who were once frightened of the Moroccan authorities.
But for the moment, the Moroccan Office for Refugees and Stateless Persons is not ready yet to examine UNHCR’s pending cases and to register new asylum seekers.
And the UNHCR is not allowed anymore to register asylum seekers.
However, registration is the first step to protect people seeking asylum.
This lack of protection is currently an important issue in Morocco.
The UNHCR Rabat has ongoing discussions with the Moroccan authorities to put in place a joint system for registration and refugee status determination during the transitional period.
2)Concrete implementation of the Refugee Legal Aid Program in Morocco:
To date, the UNHCR in Rabat has recognized around 870 migrants as refugees, which is only nine percent of those who apply for asylum in the country.
This low rate is partially due to a lack of knowledge among migrants and NGOs on the field, but also due to the absence of lawyers with training in refugee law and experience in representing refugees in Morocco.
In addition, many migrants do not even apply for asylum because they lack information about the application process or because they fear authorities.
The absence of legal status for refugees brings a lot of problems. Refugees are sometimes victims of violent gangs because they know that they will not report the crimes to police. When injured, it is very difficult for them to receive treatment at public hospitals.
Refugees in Morocco are a particularly vulnerable group in dire need of legal aid in order to secure the respect of their rights.
There were no organizations in Morocco dedicated specifically to helping migrants to obtain legal status as refugees and no programs providing legal aid to this group.
As an example, the Moroccan Organization for Human Rights helps almost exclusively those who have already been recognized as refugees by the UNHCR (in Oujda, at the border with Algeria, their main purpose is to try to stop deportation of refugees who have been arrested and face deportation to Algéria).
The Refugee Legal Aid Program in Morocco was designed by Droit et Justice with the help of three Fulbright researchers conducting research with AMERA-UK (Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance) among refugee communities in Morocco.
The researchers identified a need for legal assistance for migrants, especially asylum seekers, in the course of their research and reached out to Droit et Justice to implement this project.
Why Droit et Justice?
Droit et Justice has a relevant experience in mobilizing pro-bono lawyers through its Justice Roadshows, which have provided free legal information to over 1000 (one thousand) poor citizens in the countryside all overDroit et Justice will organize 5 other Justice Roadshows next year.
Additionally, the members of Droit et Justice have provided representation in courts to more than 40 indigent Moroccans.
Droit et Justice thus has a relevant experience providing legal aid for free to poorpeople in Morocco and has a dedicated network of pro bono attorneys willing to participate in this work.
So, last August, Droit et Justice launched its Refugee Legal Aid Program in Moroccoin partnership withthe Euro-mediterranean Foundation of Support to Human Rights Defenders.
With the Refugee Legal Aid Program in Morocco, Droit et Justice aims to provide free legal services to migrants seeking asylum in the country and to trainMoroccan attorneys and lawyers to carry on this important work.
The idea is to create a network of pro-bono refugee attorneys and to raise awareness about Refugee law and asylum application process among refugee communities and local Human Rights NGOs.
Beneficiaries:
The primary beneficiaries of this program are asylum seekers living in Morocco. Direct beneficiaries will be those who are given free legal assistance in obtaining refugee status in Morocco, but many more will also benefit indirectly thanks to the increased awareness among refugee communities and local humanitarian NGOs.
Moroccan lawyers and attorneys also benefit from the program by receiving training in Refugee law for free, in exchange for their agreement to take on cases on a pro bono basis (at least one case per year).
Project Objectives:
The Refugee Legal Aid Program in Moroccohas 3 main objectives.
The first one is to improve access to information regarding Refugee Law and the process to apply for refugee status through the newly created Moroccan office for refugees. We expect additional potential refugees to apply for status recognition.
The second objective is to ensure that applicants with credible refugee status claims are given asylum by providing them with free legal assistance.
Our activities include conducting pre-screening interviews with migrants willing to apply for asylum and to benefit from our legal assistance program.
Through those interviews, I identify the most sensitive refugee cases.
Those cases are then taken in charge by trained lawyers on a pro bono basis.
The third objective is to improve the ability of lawyers and attorneys participating in the project to provide legal aid to refugees at the end of the project.
The first year, Droit et Justice will hold training sessions and follow up workshops in 4 target cities (already done in Rabat and Casablanca and we expect to do the same in Oujda and Nador – at the border with Algeria – in the next few months).
Depending on additional funds, we’d like to expand the project to Tangiers and Tetouan at the end of 2014- beginning of 2015.
Human resources:
Ms. Sofia Rais, Executive Director in charge of many projects, is in charge of applying for more funds.
In August 2013, I was hired by Droit et Justice as the coordinator of the project.
I am in charge of training Moroccan lawyers and attorneys participating in the project (around 15 attorneys and lawyers in Casablanca-Rabat).
I am also in charge of identifying asylum seekers in need of legal assistance.
In addition, I support the newly trained pro-bono lawyers who will each take on one case per year and supervise their work.
The organizations of migrants have an important role in the implementation of the project.
Mr Marcel Amiyeto, who is the General Secretary of a migrants’ syndicate in Morocco, was hired by Droit et Justice as a Refugee community contact person.
He plays an important role in the implementation of the project by facilitating contacts with migrants themselves, but also with lawyers, local partners and the media.
He has been very active in the defense of Subsaharian migrants in Morocco during the past 8 years.
He has managed to build a network of contacts across the country.
But we’ll also have to reach Syrians, which is much more difficult because they are not organized in associations and have no leaders to represent their community.
Syrians are in a very critical situation in Morocco. They are not allowed to register as asylum seekers. They have no legal status.
Even if they are less visible, they are in dire need of international protection.
In Morocco, you can see more and more Syrian women and girls begging near mosques and facing a risk of trafficking.
Training sessions in Rabat:
In September and in October, we organized in Rabat two training sessions for Moroccan lawyers and attorneys.
The first one was held in September 12th, 2013.
In the morning, the Refugee Legal Aid Program in Morocco was presented to NGO members and migrants’ leaders.
In the afternoon, 29 lawyers from Casablanca, Settat and Rabat did benefit from the training session in Refugee Law.
During this session, we worked on the Geneva Convention (criteria for granting protection, exclusion clauses, cessation clauses) as well as Refugee Status Determination proceedings with the UNHCR in Rabat, which were presented by a legal advisor from the UNHCR Rabat.
The High Representative of the UNHCR Rabat was also present and clarified that the Government just asked them to stop providing their services. The Moroccan authorities will instead be in charge, new information that no one knew about before.
The second training covered topics such as Moroccan law and legal assistance to asylum seekers (how to conduct an interview with an asylum seeker, how to draft a case, code of ethics).
I also invited a psychologist who has been working with migrants in Morocco for many years to tell us about how to interact with asylum seekers, people who had to escape from their country, where they face violence and persecutions.
After those 2 training sessions, we organize workshops in small groups (in general two lawyers) to work on case studies (for example dedicated on how to research for country of origin informations).
In September, we also organized an awareness session on Refugee law for the benefit of NGO members and migrants’ leaders in Rabat.
The demand from migrants’ leaders especially was high and 31 persons attended this training session.
Even if they have no background in law, we were able to deeply examine the Geneva Convention and to work on case studies, which was very interesting.
Pro-bono legal aid:
In parallel, I meet with migrants for first time interviews to identify cases.
This is very important as it allows us to identify the cases that are eligible for this program and that need urgent assistance of a lawyer.
In addition, other considerations are taken into account, for instancewomen victims of rape cases will be assigned to women lawyers, etc.
Even if the person doesn’t seem to fall under the definition of a refugee, I try to give her legal advice, especially now that Moroccan authorities are launching a campaign of regularization for other reasons.
A lot of people I meet fit with the criteria to get a residence permit: 5 years on the territory or members of a Moroccan citizen’s family.
During the project period, I will be the person responsible of assigning cases to each of the trained lawyers.
I supervise their workand will review refugee request written by the lawyers before they send them to the Moroccan Office for Refugees.
Migrants contact us directly or through the Refugee Community Contact Person, but also organizations of migrants or NGOs.
We work on giving a visibility of the project on a daily basis. I meet with key actors and NGOs on a continuous basis in order to promote the program and create partnerships.
Implementation of the project in Oujda and Nador region:
In September 2013, we organized an exploratory trip in Oujda and Nador, at the border with Algeria.
Migrants, especially Subsaharians, are very often illegally deported to no man’s lands at the border with Algeria.
Hundreds of them are still hiding and trying to survive in forests, where legal service is nonexistent.
They are afraid to approach authorities because they lack legal status and because they are often abused by authorities.
The exploratory trip allowed us to approach and build trust with migrants communities living mainly in forests and who are very afraid of being approached by local authorities
It allowed us to identify the potential asylum seekers and inform them about their rights, especially the right to seek asylum.
Among them, they are potential asylum seekers in dire need of international protection.
Unlike refugees living in Rabat, refugees living in forests are unaware of their rights and most of them are not familiar with the process to seek asylum.
It also allowed us to establish first contact with local NGOs’ members.
In this region, it is essential to train NGOs’ members on Refugee law.
Then, they will be able to raise awareness among migrants while providing humanitarian assistance.
They will also help us to identify the most vulnerable cases.
The exploratory trip will be followed by other trips for training sessions and workshops in Oujda, for the benefit of lawyers and attorneys, but also NGOs, upon reception of additional funds.
As in Casablanca and Rabat, trained lawyers and attorneys from this region will take on one case per year on a pro-bono basis.
The asylum seekers whose cases will be assigned to trained lawyersin Oujda or Nador will need to come to the Moroccan Office for Refugees in Rabat in order to register, conduct the Refugee Status Determination interview or renew their asylum seeker certificate.
Accordingly, Droit et Justice will cover their transportation to Rabat.
However, there is at the moment no visibility on when the Moroccan Office for Refugees will be ready to receive the asylum seekers.
Depending on additional funds available, the region of Tangiers and Tetouan will be covered during the second year.
To date… (chiffres)
3)New challenges:
The new Moroccan policies regarding asylum and immigration increase the interest of our Refugee Legal Aid Program in Morocco.
Specifically, with the creation of a national asylum system in Morocco, we can see three additional challenges for our project:
For the moment, the priority must be given to advocacy for the creation of a relevant national asylum system respecting the rights of asylum seekers and refugees (photo brainstorming meeting).
The Moroccan authorities want to collaborate with civil society to build-up their new policies.
So, as an NGO created by Moroccan lawyers promoting Human Rights, we must be a source of relevant propositions and lobby.
Our project is much more relevant that, by submitting well-argumented cases, our lawyers and attorneys will indirectly contribute to the awareness and on-going training of Moroccan staff in charge of Refugee Status Determination.
Through our project, Moroccan authorities will hopefully realize that legal assistance for asylum seekers is essential for the effective exercise of the right to seek asylum.
They will see the obvious difference between a case taken in charge by Droit et Justice and the others.
That way, we would like to contribute to the consecration in the Law of free legal aid for asylum seekers as the only concrete way to allow them to effectively exercise the right to seek asylum.
We would like to encourage the Moroccan Government to set-up a global system of legal assistance for asylum seekers throughout Morocco, as a State mission.
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