Morocco’s Distinguished Efforts on Migration Highlighted at House of Advisors

The House of Advisors held on Monday an interactive preparatory meeting for the first International Migration Review Forum that will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 17-20 May 2022. This meeting, which was attended by representatives of the various departments concerned, also comes ahead of the participation in the works of the Multi-Stakeholder Hearing on Migration which will be organized by the President of the UN General Assembly on May 16. Participants at the meeting discussed the progress made regarding the operationalization of the National Immigration Strategy and the implementation of the 23 objectives of the Global Compact on Migration. They also tackled the challenges and opportunities related to emerging issues and new migration challenges in the context of the coronavirus pandemic and the impact of climate change. In opening remarks read on his behalf, the Speaker of the House of Advisors, Naama Mayara, stressed that this meeting is guided by the Royal Vision expressed by HM King Mohammed VI in His message to the Intergovernmental Conference to Adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was held in Marrakech in 2018. Recalling the various migration-related initiatives taken during the 2016-2017 and the 2020-2021 legislative years, Mayara said that despite the measures taken by the Kingdom to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration more efforts are needed as “the number of migrants continues to increase due to climate change, conflicts and wars, not to mention the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on millions of people in the world in general and within the African continent in particular.” In their statements, representatives of ministerial departments stressed that the management of migration issues is very challenging in an international context marked by economic and political crises. They also discussed the measures taken to facilitate the integration of migrants and refugees into society, allowing them access to all public services (education, health, social housing, social and humanitarian assistance, legal protection, employment, …), in coordination with government institutions and departments and partnership with civil society. The participants agreed that the National Strategy for Immigration and Asylum enjoys remarkable recognition from many countries inside and outside the African continent, adding that these countries have long expressed their support and full involvement in the dynamics launched by Morocco. They also highlighted the efforts made to support and facilitate the integration of migrants and refugees in the educational system, and to reinforce the values of tolerance, openness, diversity, and non-discrimination within the Moroccan school. Regarding the integration of migrants into the Moroccan economic fabric, the participants said that a guide on the employment of foreign employees has been made available to employers. This guide provides a set of data on the filing of applications for employment contracts.