Strasbourg, 18/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - French Socialist Martine Roure, Hélène Flautre (Greens/EFA, France), Willy Meyer Pleite (GUE/NGL, Spain) and Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert (ALDE, NL) made a joint appeal on Wednesday 17 January for respect of human rights in the context of asylum and immigration policies. Mentioning the violence committed in Morocco at the end of December 2006 against migrants (see EUROPE 9336), they call on the EU to ensure that migrants' rights are respected by transit countries.
“This is not the first time that the Moroccan authorities have used this kind of action in the name of migration management. Morocco has a duty to abide by international protection rules and the Geneva Convention. The EU is also responsible as, at the EU's request, (this country) applies such a policy. We cannot accept the way in which EU immigration and asylum policies 'externalise' or are transferred to non-member states”, Martine Roure said. Hélène Flautre took the view that one should question EU pressure to make Morocco adopt a second generation re-entry agreement, whereby this country would have to take back onto its territory Moroccan as well as transit migrants. She went on to say this is a ruse that Morocco has been quick to understand. “The European Commission cannot turn its back on this”, said Willy Meyer Pleite, saying it must ensure that Morocco falls into line with fundamental principles and does not distance itself from democratic rules. He went on to deplore the fact that people are becoming used to hearing “3000 die at sea” when these are war figures.
The Moroccan ambassador with the EU will be taking part in a debate on 22 January on immigration within the parliamentary sub-committee on human rights. The European Commission announced last week that it would contact the Moroccan authorities to call for clarification in this affair (see EUROPE 9140), and Commissioner Frattini will also be heard by the EP Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights in the near future. (mb)