Morocco Dismisses Baseless NGOs Allegations Regarding Nador-Melilla Incidents

The Moroccan Inter-Ministerial Delegation for Human Rights (DIDH) rejected, on Wednesday, the allegations and erroneous positions adopted by certain non-governmental organizations with the aim of undermining Morocco’s efforts to enshrine the practice of human rights, as well as its major achievements in managing immigration and asylum affairs.
The DIDH reaffirmed in a press release its commitment to openness, dialogue and cooperation with NGOs working objectively to strengthen the protection and promotion of human rights, stressing that it had taken note of the allegations contained in the reports of certain NGOs concerning what they called the “first anniversary” of the incidents that took place on June 24, 2022, at the border crossing between Nador and the occupied city of Melilla.
The Inter-Ministerial delegation recalled that around 2,000 migrants, whose leaders had been trained in infiltration techniques and the use of violence, had tried to storm Melilla and climb the metal fence–in utilizing unprecedented violence against the forces of law and order–aided with weapons and stones. Twenty-three migrants died, and 140 security forces and 70 immigrants were injured as a result of the stampede and ensuing asphyxiation.
DIDH noted that certain organizations continue to produce abusive judgments, extrapolations, and conclusions that are not based on concrete data, just as they rely on one-sided sources of information and endorse unfounded allegations–without taking into consideration the data provided by official or credible sources on these events–including that which is publicly available on official electronic sites of the UN human rights mechanisms.
The DIDH affirmed that all Moroccan law enforcement officers, including those working at the Nador-Melilla crossing point, are subject to monitoring and evaluation, and receive human rights training to ensure compliance with national legislation and international conventions on the protection of immigrants’ rights and freedoms.
In this vein, DIDH pointed out that the National Council for Human Rights (CNDH) and local NGOs have noted the absence of any use of real ammunition by the forces of law and order.
The same source assured us that the competent authorities have provided all those injured with the necessary medical assistance without discrimination, as recorded in official documents within the framework of interaction with UN human rights mechanisms, as well as by the CNDH and local NGOs.
The DIDH further stated that seven people have been identified, as DNA and fingerprint samples are being collected in close collaboration with the relevant national authorities and Interpol offices in the Middle East and North Africa, and that the competent authorities are resolutely pursuing their efforts to identify the remains.
It went on to say that as a result of Morocco’s persistent efforts, a body was identified using a DNA test done on the brother of a deceased person, the results of which were identical to those obtained on the corpse. At the brother’s request, the body was then returned to him for burial.