Spain has returned 16 migrants, including Nigerians, Senegalese and Cameroonians, to Morocco after rejecting their asylum applications, marking the first deportations of this kind from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta since a mass border crossing in July.
- Spain has deported 16 migrants from Ceuta to Morocco after rejecting their asylum applications.
- The deportations were the first of their kind since the mass border crossing in July.
- Rights groups have criticized Spain, arguing migrants may face risks in Morocco and that their rights were not properly considered.
- There are concerns over the treatment of migrants and the transparency of the process, as some returns may not have been genuinely voluntary.
The Spanish Interior Ministry said the group was returned after Morocco agreed to receive them and that they remained on Moroccan territory.
The ministry did not disclose the number of people deported or their nationalities, but migrant and human rights organisations operating in Ceuta identified 16 people from Senegal, Nigeria, Yemen, Cameroon and Bangladesh according to Reuters.
The returns have drawn criticism from rights groups, which argue that Spain has not adequately considered the risks migrants could face in Morocco.
The deportations also raise questions about the treatment of asylum seekers as the Spanish government tries to address the backlog of applications following July’s mass crossing.
Virginia Alvarez, an Amnesty International researcher, criticised Spain’s approach in comments to Reuters, arguing that it fell short of the country’s stated commitment to human rights.
Rights groups challenge Spain’s returns policy
The deportations come as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government faces pressure to manage the thousands of migrants who remain in Ceuta after the mass crossing from Morocco in late July.
The Reuters report also highlighted concerns from charities and lawyers about the treatment of migrants awaiting decisions on their asylum claims
Several non-governmental organisations, including Amnesty International, have complained to Spain’s ombudsman that some migrants recorded as having returned voluntarily to Morocco may have been forced to leave.
The organisations said the cases included people from countries outside Morocco and questioned whether their rights had been respected.
Spain’s government has said the returns were carried out after Morocco agreed to receive the migrants. However, the deportations have renewed scrutiny of how authorities handle rejected asylum claims and whether migrants have adequate opportunities to challenge decisions before being returned.
