Geneva: Migrant Workers’ Committee Examines Tragedy of Moroccans Expelled from Algeria

The tragedy of thousands of Moroccan citizens expelled from Algeria in 1975 was among the issues raised by an international expert during an interactive dialogue of the Committee on Migrant Workers, held Tuesday in Geneva, on the occasion of the examination of Morocco’s second periodic report on the implementation of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families. During this dialogue, which is part of the 36th Committee’s session, the expert Fatima Diallo asked about the issue of expulsion of thousands of Moroccans, residing legally and for many years in Algeria, and on the measures taken for the restitution of their looted property and their compensation. In the same vein, the director of global issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates Ismail Chekkori noted that this issue, which is a human and humanitarian drama, has seen Algeria arbitrarily expel 45 thousand families in the midst of the religious holiday of Eid el Adha. The Moroccan official added that the national response was part of the national solidarity, which had enabled the integration of Moroccans arbitrarily expelled from Algeria to work and access to social services. Nevertheless, given the current context of Morocco’s relations with Algeria, marked by the unilateral Algerian decision to sever diplomatic relations with Morocco, Chekkori asked the UN Committee to examine this issue with the necessary attention, so that justice is done. A Moroccan multi-sectoral delegation, led by the Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills, Younes Sekkouri, participated in the meeting, which presented the Moroccan policy on immigration and asylum.