UNHCR: Over 6,000 refugees in Morocco received financial assistance during Covid-19 crisis

UN and European officials have commended Morocco’s continued commitment to the rights of refugees, ensuring them access to public services, education, healthcare, legal protection and employment, in the same way as Moroccan citizens.

At a press conference held lately in Rabat by the UNHCR on the situation of refugees in North Africa, they said that refugees in Morocco have benefited from medical care, psychological and social monitoring and exceptional financial assistance during the covid-19 crisis.

UNHCR representative in Morocco, François Reybet-Degat said Morocco is a reference country in this field thanks to the multiple initiatives launched to protect refugees and facilitate their access to public services, including education.

The refugees have benefited in Morocco from more than 12,500 medical consultations in addition to 5,000 counselling sessions, while over 6,000 refugees and asylum seekers received exceptional financial assistance during the covid-19 lockdown restrictions, he stressed.

Thanks to remote learning, adopted by the Ministry of Education in 2020, the success rate reached 90% among migrants’ children enrolled in primary and secondary schools, affirmed the UN refugee agency representative.

Moroccan institutions are committed to promote the rights of migrants and refugees despite the challenges generated by the Covid-19 pandemic, he added, hailing Morocco’s national strategy on immigration and asylum, based on humanitarian and solidarity approach.

Jean Christophe Filori, representative of the EU Delegation in Morocco, also praised the actions made by the Kingdom for the protection of the rights of refugees and asylum seekers.