Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
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all those who applied would be regularized and integrated. In reality, the eligibility criteria
were much more restrictive than advertised, and the documentation needed to complete the
procedure was often difficult for irregular migrants to acquire.319 In the first half of 2014
especially, the process was marked by a low acceptance rate due to inconsistent procedures
across implementing organizations and overly strict criteria.320 The International Federation
for Human Rights (FIDH) noted that this was vastly improved in June 2014 with the
establishment of an appeals board and a tacit decision to grant all women and children
regularized status.321
Another criticism relates to the categories of migrants who received regularized status. Many
of those who were accepted through the program were students (who could have applied for a
residency permit during their studies) and Syrians (who should qualify for refugee status).322
In contrast, only 4 percent of those already on a work contract who applied for regularization
received positive responses.323 There is still no data on how many Syrians who were
registered with UNHCR took advantage of the regularization program in order to receive
residency permits and the right to work (which were not available to them through other
means).324 However, international observers (including UNHCR) have expressed concern over
the lack of official protection granted through the regularization program, and the lack of legal
pathways for Syrians to obtain work permits now that the temporary regularization period
ended as of December 31, 2014.325
Forthcoming National Asylum Law
After the exceptional regularization campaign, the SNIA was adapted by the Moroccan
government in December 2014. The SNIA is based around six overarching principles326 and
includes 11 programmatic areas.327 As part of these programmatic areas, three new laws are
to be enacted tackling the issues of trafficking, asylum, and immigration. The laws have been
worked on by three drafting committees under the aegis of the Inter-Ministerial Delegation for
Human Rights, which all saw a large degree of support and training from international
organizations such as UNHCR and the European Union, as well as from national development
agencies like GIZ (which organized study tours for Moroccan officials to see how asylum
procedures are implemented in Germany, for example).
Of these laws, the law on trafficking is currently the only one to have been completed; it was
adopted by the Moroccan Parliament’s House of Representatives in May 2016 after one year of
deliberation, beneefiting from strong championing by multiple actors, including international
319 FIDH and GADEM, Maroc: Entre rafles et régularisations ,13
320 FIDH and GADEM, Maroc: Entre rafles et régularisations
321 FIDH and GADEM, Maroc: Entre rafles et régularisations; Katharina Natter, “Almost Home? Morocco’s Incomplete
Migration Reforms,” World Politics Review, updated May 5, 2015,
Julie Chaudier, “Migration : 27 332 étrangers originaires de 116 pays régularisés au Maroc,” Yabiladi, February 10, 2015,
322 FIDH and GADEM, Maroc: Entre rafles et régularisations, Bilan d’une politique migratoire indécise (Paris: FIDH, 2015), 14,
323 Natter, “Almost Home? Morocco’s Incomplete Migration Reforms”
324 Interview conducted by Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Rabat, March 2016
325 Interview conducted by Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Rabat, March 2016
326 The six principles are: a humanist approach, a global approach, a human-rights based approach, conformity with
international law, renewed cooperation, and shared responsibility.
327 The 11 programmatic areas are: Education and culture; youth and leisurely activities; health; housing; social and
humanitarian assistance; vocational training; employment; management of migration flows and combating trafficking;
cooperation and international partnerships; legal and policy framework; and governance and communication.