A draft resolution in the European Parliament on migrant minors is causing so much consternation in Morocco, according to the president of the Moroccan parliament.
The President of the House of Representatives, Habib El Malki, speaking on Sunday, said he was “surprised” and “disappointed” following “the tabling of a draft resolution in the European Parliament on a so-called ‘use of minors by the Moroccan authorities’ in the migration crisis in Ceuta.
In a statement to the press, El Malki said it was an “initiative that is totally inconsistent with the quality of cooperation between the Moroccan Parliament and the European Parliament.
According to him, this initiative “is part of an attempt to divert attention from a purely bilateral political crisis between Morocco and Spain.
“As everyone knows, this crisis is not related to migration but to the fraudulent entry into Spain of an individual prosecuted by the Spanish justice system, for serious crimes against Spanish victims,” he explained.
He also said that “the use of the migration issue, and especially the issue of unaccompanied minors in this context, is clearly an attempt to Europeanize a bilateral crisis.
“I deplore the exploitation of an exceptional incident in a partnership where Morocco plays an exemplary role,” the President of the House of Representatives added.
“In the field of migration and as stated by the Moroccan authorities, Morocco does not act in the service of the European Union or for a counterpart. It does so as a partner and as part of a shared responsibility, as demonstrated by the figures on migration and security cooperation in recent years, which some EU MPs seem to ignore,” he went on.
He maintained that “the House of Representatives, which will follow this issue very closely, hopes that the constructive spirit of partnership will prevail and that the European Parliament will not fall into the trap of escalation.
The reaction of the President of the House of Representatives comes as the European Parliament is expected to debate and vote on a resolution on June 10, on the possible violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the use of minors by the authorities of Morocco in the migration crisis over the occupied enclave of Ceuta.
The recent events in Ceuta, after thousands of people, including hundreds of children, crossed the border from Morocco, will be debated on Thursday in the European Parliament plenary session.
The EU Parliament will consider whether the use of minors by Moroccan authorities constitutes a violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
HA/LOS/fss/abj/APA