Spain accused of summary deportations as thousands sent back to Morocco | Spain | The Guardian
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Spain accused of summary deportations as thousands sent back to Morocco Campaigners say Spain may be violating migrants’ rights after mass crossing into enclave of Ceuta The rapid pace at which Spain is returning migrants to Morocco could mean that migrants’ rights are being violated, campaigners have warned, as Spain said it had already sent back 4,800 of the 8,000 people who had arrived in the north African enclave of Ceuta since Monday. “How can 4,000 people be summarily returned without violating the rights of children, asylum seekers, everyone?” Judith Sunderland, of Human Rights Watch, asked on Twitter. “The challenge of so many arrivals in a short time does not justify the violation of rights or abandoning our humanity.”
On Wednesday arrivals in Ceuta had all but halted as Morocco tightened control of the border. Even so, Spain’s prime minister stepped up his criticism of the Moroccan government, drawing a direct link between its actions and the unprecedented influx of thousands of people, including an estimated 2,000 minors. “This is an act of defiance,” Pedro Sánchez told Spain’s parliament on Wednesday. “The lack of border control by Morocco is not a show of disrespect of Spain, but rather for the European Union.”
The 36-hour mass crossing played out against a backdrop of deepening tensions with Morocco over Madrid’s decision to allow the leader of the Western Sahara independence movement to be treated for Covid-19 in Spain.As Spain scrambled to cope with the humanitarian crisis – deploying its army, military vehicles and 200 extra police to patrol the border – Sánchez promised swift action. “We will proceed to immediately return – I repeat, immediately return – all those who have entered Ceuta and Melilla irregularly,” he said, citing provisions set out in a longstanding bilateral agreement with Morocco. The agreement, however, stipulates exceptions for vulnerable groups such as minors, people with disabilities, pregnant women and asylum seekers. It also sets out a process that specifies that migrants must be identified before being returned.Rafael Escudero, of the Spanish Network for Immigration and Refugee Aid, said the frenzied pace of returns suggested Spanish officials were ignoring these provisions. “The maths don’t work out,” he said. “Even if there were 4,000 police officers on the ground, it would take at least 4,000 minutes to collect data and take a declaration. That’s dozens of hours … They’re carrying out summary deportations.”The concerns echo reports from journalists at the scene. The Associated Press said its reporters saw Spanish military personnel and police officers ushering adults and children through a gate in the border fence. Those who resisted were pushed and chased by soldiers who used batons to hasten them, it said.Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has denied that unaccompanied minors are being deported in violation of Spanish laws, but the ministry has not provided details on how migrants’ rights are being protected.Spain’s hardline approach has been vaunted by the Italian far-right politician Matteo Salvini on Twitter, and EU officials have backed Spain. “EU stands in solidarity with Ceuta & Spain,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EU commission, said on Twitter on Tuesday.The commission vice-president Margaritis Schinas took a tougher stance, telling the Spanish broadcaster RTVE: “Nobody can intimidate or blackmail the European Union. Ceuta is Europe, this border is a European border and what happens there is not a problem for Madrid, but a problem for all.”
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