Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
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By 2004, the number of sub-Saharan Africans apprehended by Spanish authorities seeking to
cross the Strait of Gibraltar surpassed that of Moroccans.270 These migrants came from a
diverse array of source countries, such as Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, other West African states, and even states farther afield, including
Pakistan and Bangladesh.271 Though many of these migrants entered Morocco with the goal of
reaching Spain and other parts of Western Europe, it would be insufficient to describe
Morocco as a simple country of transit. Regular migration from many West African states, such
as Senegal and Mali, has increased as students and workers seek opportunity in comparatively
wealthy Morocco.272 Other irregular and forced migrants have also sought to permanently
settle in Morocco, or decide that the country is the “second-best” option should they be unable
to reach European soil.273
The role of Morocco as an “accidental” destination, trapping migrants who may eventually
have chosen to move onward, has increased as the European Union has sought to increase its
border security. As Spain and Morocco are separated by only nine miles by sea at the Strait of
Gibraltar’s narrowest point, and the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla represent the only land
borders between the two continents, Morocco has been especially courted by the EU as a
partner in managing migration.274 In 1999, Spain created the Integrated System of External
Vigilance (SIVE) to detect irregular migrant crossings and combat smuggling along the Strait
of Gibraltar.275 This program was later expanded along the entire Andalucian coast and
eventually to the Canary Islands, as migration flows shifted in response to increased
controls.276 In 2006 32,000 migrants were detected attempting to reach the Canary Islands
from departure points in Senegal, Mauritania, and Morocco.277 Morocco and Spain have since
worked together to patrol coastal waters and facilitate the return of irregular migrants.278 This
work has been supported and partially funded by Frontex (created in 2004), as the European
Union focused on securing its external borders.279
This increase in border security has made the Western Mediterranean route from Morocco to
Spain much less popular. As of June 29, there had been 2,476 maritime arrivals in Spain and
2,130 land arrivals in Ceuta and Melilla in 2016, paling in comparison to the over 200,000
arrivals seen in Greece and Italy in the same time period.280 Similarly, Frontex recorded only
874 irregular arrivals along the Western African route to the Canary Islands in 2015.281
270 Ann Kimball, “The Transit State: A Comparative Analysis of Mexican and Moroccan Immigration Policies,” (working
paper 150, The Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, University of California, San Diego, June 2007), 110,
271 Rebecca Dowd, “Trapped in transit: the plight and human rights of stranded migrants,” (Research paper No. 156, UNHCR,
Geneva), 5
272 de Haas, “Morocco: Setting the Stage for Becoming a Migration Transition Country?”
273 de Haas, “Morocco: Setting the Stage for Becoming a Migration Transition Country?”
274 de Haas, “Morocco: Setting the Stage for Becoming a Migration Transition Country?”
275 Jørgen Carling, “The Merits and Limitations of Spain’s High-Tech Border Control,” Migration Information Source, June 7,
2007
276 Ibid.
277 Frontex, “Western African Route,” accessed August 9, 2016,
278 de Haas, “Morocco: From Emigration Country to Africa’s Migration Passage to Europe”
279 This focus on the European Union’s external border was largely driven by the dissolution of internal borders through the
Schengen Accord. To allow for the free movement of people inside the bloc, many member states believed it was necessary
to control who had access to this zone through stricter border controls on Europe’s periphery. Sergio Carrera, Jean-Pierre
Cassarino, Nora El Qadim, Mehdi Lahlou, and Leonhard den Hertog, EU-Morocco Cooperation on Readmission, Borders and
Protection: A model to follow?, (Brussels: Centre for European Policy Studies, 2016), 4,
280 UNHCR, “Refugees/Migrants Emergency Response – Mediterranean,” updated June 29, 2016,