Migration Crisis Between Spain and Morocco Generates Major Diplomatic Tensions

Thursday, May 20, 2021

Lucas Leiroz, research fellow in international law at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Migration issue is once again becoming a focus of tensions in Europe. This week, a huge migratory flow started in Ceuta and Melilla, two enclaves that separate Spain and Morocco. More than 8,000 immigrants entered Spanish territory on Monday during a massive influx. Even more immigrants have been arriving during this entire week, which makes the official count difficult. The Spanish government reacted harshly, having already returned more than 5,000 immigrants to Morocco. Spanish military troops were allocated in Ceuta and Melilla to resume the control of the region.

The migratory crisis on the border between Morocco and Spain was highlighted on media channels around the world throughout this week. The number of immigrants and the speed of the influx impressed not only the Spanish government, but also the entire European Union and international society. Cornered in the face of a very delicate and serious humanitarian situation, the local government of Ceuta classified the case as a national security crisis – a speech that was welcomed by Madrid. In fact, it is inconceivable that such a large number of immigrants crossed the local Moroccan border without any notice by the local authorities, which indicates that the Moroccan government colluded with the entry of immigrants on European soil.

Some analysts say that behind the migration issue there is a political retaliation on the part of the Moroccan government. This retaliation would be due to the fact that Spain allowed the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Gali, to be secretly hospitalized in the country, in April, in order to treat Covid-19. Considered a terrorist group by Rabat, the revolutionary movement defends the right to self-determination in Western Sahara, colonized by Spain and annexed in 1975 by Morocco. Last November, after a long period of ceasefire, hostilities resumed in North Africa, and Gali declared war against Rabat. The Spanish government claims that it welcomed Gali only for humanitarian reasons, not considering political issues, but Rabat still considers the case as a serious betrayal in bilateral relations.

Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish cities that have always been claimed by Morocco – which receives support from several countries in the African Union and the Arab League. The European Union and the UN, however, recognize Spanish sovereignty and consider it indisputable. As the only land borders connecting Africa to the EU, these cities are easy routes for the flow of illegal immigrants, narcotics, weapons, human trafficking, among others, which makes the region extremely sensitive in terms of security. In fact, the diplomatic crisis generated by Madrid in welcoming Gali may have reawakened an old territorial dispute and the Moroccan government may have taken advantage of the low levels of security and control in these cities to occupy them with the massive sending of immigrants – the majority of Moroccan origin.

This is not the first time that the Moroccan government has facilitated immigrants’ access to Spanish territory. In July 2018, about 600 migrants managed to enter Ceuta illegally after a violent attack, in which they threw stones, sticks and droppings to intimidate the border police. Between late 2016 and early 2017, this city also suffered several incursions by hundreds of people who managed to cross the border illegally. In 2005, hundreds of Moroccans crossed the border illegally and started a serious confrontation with the Spanish police, leaving 40 injured and 5 dead. In all cases, there were tensions in bilateral relations, which were resolved through negotiations, resulting in the return of part of the immigrants.

That is why Europeans are acting harshly in the current crisis and ignoring any humanitarian impasse. This Wednesday, the vice-president of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, warned, in reference to Morocco, that “some countries” are trying to instrumentalize migration, which will not be admitted by the EU. He also said that European authorities will not be intimidated by such attitudes. The Moroccan government has called its ambassador to Madrid back to Rabat. So, a diplomatic crisis scenario is formed, which will certainly delay any solution.

While Spain accelerates the process of expelling immigrants, the Moroccan government appears inert. It is curious to note how the humanitarian principle in European foreign policy is constantly contradicted according to the material interests of States. Spain welcomed Gali with a humanitarian speech and, ignoring the same speech, quickly expels immigrants – supported by the EU. This shows that it is not only humanitarianism that guides the decisions of European governments, but a wide range of strategic interests. Spain may be not wrong in expelling immigrants, but it could have avoided a major diplomatic crisis by taking a more neutral stance on Morocco’s internal issues if it did not receive Gali for medical treatment.

In any case, the current situation is tragic both for immigrants and for the Spanish cities that are receiving them. The Spanish government is right to consider the case as a situation of risk to national security. The Moroccan government is visibly using immigration to guarantee its interests in claimed regions, but whose Spanish sovereignty is widely recognized in international society. However, it is possible that the Spanish government’s attitudes set a precedent for other European states to adopt measures for the automatic return of new immigrants, which would generate a major crisis in EU’s humanitarianism.

Source: InfoBrics