Death of 23 migrants at the Spanish border

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Twenty-three people died on Friday 24 June 2022 while attempting to cross en masse the perimeter fence between Nador, Morocco, and the Spanish enclave of Melilla. Images show dozens of bodies tangled together, with people dead and injured lying on the ground after Moroccan police tried to push them back.

This tragedy brings the issue of migration policy in Africa back to the fore, along with the urgent need to respect the fundamental rights of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.

The treatment of these young Africans at the border between Morocco and Spain has caused outrage. On 18 June, violent clashes were reported in the same area between migrants and Moroccan security forces, leaving several people injured. Nador, a strategic departure point for people seeking to migrate, is now a “no-go zone” for them, forcing them to take refuge in the forests in order to reach Europe.

Yet these men and women in search of a promised land deserve to be seen and treated with respect. They have rights and freedoms that are first and foremost grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which solemnly guarantees equality between individuals and the principle of non-discrimination. This text protects everyone from torture and from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) follows the same principles as the Declaration. Under the Charter, everyone has the right to move freely and to seek or receive asylum from persecution. Article 12 states that “every person has the right to move freely and choose their residence within a State.”

Along the same lines, Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 16 December 1966 states: “Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognised in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”

In short, it is clear that nothing can justify certain actions against migrants. On the contrary, they must be protected and supported in every respect, including education and healthcare.

AfricTivistes considers what happened at the border between Morocco and Spain degrading and deeply shocking. This tragedy compels us to reaffirm the sanctity of human life and the responsibility of political authorities to ensure the safety of people seeking to migrate. It also compels us to condemn, without exception, threats to and attacks on the lives of Africans.

We believe that statements by African authorities and the attitude of migrants’ countries of origin have fallen far short of what this disaster and the humanitarian chaos caused by this scourge demand.

We condemn African institutions’ failure to act in response to the treatment of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa around the world, and deplore the absence of a genuine African migration policy.

We condemn the absence of an African system to provide rapid assistance to migrants in distress.

We demand an international investigation to shed full light on this human tragedy and establish who is responsible.

We call on Africa’s key stakeholders to come together as soon as possible for serious discussions on the disastrous consequences of migration on the continent.

We demand that all States—countries of origin, countries of transit and European countries—respect international human rights and migrant rights texts and conventions. We urge them to put humanity and acceptance of others at the heart of their actions.