The Moroccan Human Rights Organization (OMDH) has detailed serious violations against irregular migrants in the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla and said it does not rule out referring the matter to international bodies.
At a press conference, OMDH president Nawfal Bouamri presented a report on the recent mass crossing to the occupied enclave of Ceuta, saying roughly 40,000 irregular migrants suffered various forms of violence, including beatings and injuries, as well as the deliberate deprivation of food and water.
Their rights were not protected in line with international conventions, Bouamri stated.
“We have closely monitored this crisis, on which the OMDH has prepared a detailed report. We will move to the next stage, which is to seize international institutions,” he told reporters when asked about further steps.
Bouamri also condemned what he described as hate speech and racist rhetoric from the Spanish right that accompanied the crisis. “We call on the Spanish side to put an end to the hateful and xenophobic discourse directed at Moroccan immigrants and their country,” he said, speaking in the presence of Spanish media.
On the issue of minors, the OMDH president expressed regret that Ceuta authorities have still not disclosed either their number or nationalities.
He further cited testimonies claiming that authorities planned to bury 60 bodies in a Muslim cemetery and 20 others in a separate cemetery, sorted “solely on the basis of the color of their skin.”
The migrants came from multiple nationalities, including Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Egyptian, Sudanese, Yemeni and Afghan, according to Bouamri.
He called for precise identification of the bodies and rapid contact with families.
The OMDH is urging Spain to open an independent investigation into all human rights violations, including claims of sexual assaults, and to make the findings public while respecting the rights of victims and their families to the truth. The probe should also examine consistent testimonies about the coordinated closure of shops aimed at denying food to people who had entered Ceuta.
The organization called on Spanish authorities to end all propaganda campaigns and racist discourse that fuel discrimination against migrants in general and those who crossed into Ceuta and Melilla
