VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRB #0002/01 0030853
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 030853Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2392
INFO RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 3631
RUEHBP/AMEMBASSY BAMAKO 0054
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 1543
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 0362
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 2706
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 5300
RUEHNM/AMEMBASSY NIAMEY 1132
RUEHNK/AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT 2914
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 3931
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 8538
RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA 1025
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0905
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 000002 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE ALSO FOR G/TIP, INL/TIP, DRL/IL, DRL/BA, NEA/RA, IWI, 
PRM, NEA/ENA, AND G 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2015 
TAGS: ELAB MO PHUM PREF PREL SMIG SOCI
SUBJECT: ASYLUM SEEKERS OVERWHELM UNHCR IN RABAT 
 
Classified By: CDA Wayne Bush. Reason: 1.4 (G). 
 
 ¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  On November 30, Poloffs from Rabat and 
Casablanca met with UNHCR Head of Mission, Johannes van der 
Klaauw, at UNHCR headquarters in Rabat to discuss the 
status of refugee seekers in Morocco and UNHCR,s future 
plans.  Van der Klaauw highlighted the challenges with the 
dramatic increase in number of asylum seekers in Morocco 
since last May and described UNHCR,s intentions concerning 
how to cope with the escalating numbers.  He also described 
what he sees as a pressing need to establish a working 
dialogue with the GOM regarding its position on asylum 
seekers and the possibility of U.S. assistance in moving 
the discussion forward, given the fact that, according to 
Van der Clauw, the GOM will not allow individuals granted 
refugee status to remain in Morocco. 
 
END SUMMARY 
 
-------------- 
Numbers are Up 
-------------- 
¶2.  (U) On November 30, Poloffs met with the UNHCR Head of 
Mission, Johannes van der Klaauw, at his headquarters in 
Rabat.  The newly arrived van der Klaauw is managing a 
staff of eight international coordinators in an effort to 
deal with the influx of asylum seekers flocking to the 
headquarters in ever increasing numbers since last May. 
The majority of the asylum seekers are from Sierra Leone, 
Algeria, Chad, Congo, Ivory Coast, Gambia and Tunisia. Van 
der Klaauw also told Poloffs that recently there has been 
an increase in the number of non-sub-Saharan asylum 
seekers, e.g., from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, 
arriving mainly via the Gulf Region.  This group, however, 
constitutes a small percentage of the applicants.  Numerous 
asylum seekers congregate throughout the week outside of 
UNHCR,s office just five minutes, walk from the US Embassy. 
 
 ¶3.  (SBU)  In May 2005, according to Van der Klaauw, the 
number of asylum seekers appearing at UNHCR skyrocketed 
from a nominal amount to approximately 500 a month leading 
to a backlog of over 1700 hopeful refugees, the majority of 
whom it appears do not meet internationally established 
criteria for refugee status.  Shortly after Van der Klaauw, 
s arrival this fall he set up a new system of preliminary 
interviews which has alleviated the backlog somewhat; Van 
der Klaauw hopes to eliminate the remaining backlog by 
early spring. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
GOM,s Handling of Refugees in Question 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C)  Van der Klaauw explained that since 2000, UNHCR 
has recognized some 265 asylum seekers in Morocco as 
legitimate refugees, a number that may rise dramatically 
when all the new applicants, cases have been adjudicated. 
Other recognized refugees have been living in Morocco for 
nearly twenty years with little hope of relocation.  Until 
recently, asylum seekers receiving refugee status have been 
issued Moroccan identification cards and been allowed to 
work throughout the country with limited difficulties. 
However, since the attacks on Sebta and Melilla in October 
(reftels), and the increase of sub-Saharans attempting to 
transit Morocco on their way to Europe, the situation has 
changed dramatically for asylum seekers and those 
recognized by UNHCR as refugees.  Van der Klaauw said that 
the GOM has started to refuse to renew a number of expired 
ID cards for the legitimate refugees and  that a number of 
lawful asylum seekers had been arrested and were being held 
in camps in both the north and south of the country. 
¶5.  (C)  Van der Klaauw noted that in November, the GOM 
allowed a UNHCR team access to approximately 40 
sub-Saharans, with preliminary UNHCR documentation, being 
held in a military camp in Guelmin in southern Morocco. 
After three days of interviews, the team recommended 11 for 
refugee status, including a minor and two women.  According 
to the UN refugee agency the GOM cooperated with the 
arrangements, but Van der Klaauw said there are reports of 
abuse in the camps.  He said there is at least one case in 
which a sub-Saharan woman, recognized by UNHCR as a 
refugee, had been arrested as an illegal immigrant and 
interned in the camp at Guelmin for two months before being 
released.  Another serious concern for the international 
refugee organization is the camp at Nador, near the Spanish 
enclave of Melilla in northern Morocco.  UNHCR suspected 
that there were legitmate asylum seekers being held in the 
camp but before they were allowed to follow-up the camp was 
nceremoniously closed and those being held were prsumably 
deported despite the possibility that soe of the detainees 
may have been legitimate refuees.  Van der Klaauw also 
reported that he had heard complaints of abuse at the hands 
of Moroccan raffickers, sometimes used by sub-Saharans 
attempting to make their way north to Spain. 
 
¶6.  (C) Van der Klaauw explained that he had met with MFA 
and MOI officials concerning the handling of people given 
refugee status in general and about the 11 identified 
refugees in Guelmim in particular.  He said the GOM had 
made it clear  that UNHCR was welcome to continue 
interviewing asylum seekers (UNHCR had difficulty 
establishing contact with many illegal migrants even a few 
months ago, due to GOM sensitivities), but those given 
refugee status were not going to be permitted to remain in 
Morocco.  Van der Klaauw said he was in a quandary since 
there was no resettlement program in Morocco.  He said 
UNHCR was thinking about approaching &non-traditional8 
resettlement countries such as Spain and Italy to explore 
the possibilities of a limited resettlement program in 
Morocco, but he was clearly eager to know what advice the 
US might have to offer in this regard.  He anticipated that 
the issue of the Guelmim refugees would be taken up at a 
high level between UNHCR and the GOM, perhaps between 
Deputy HCR Chamberlin and Moroccan Deputy FM Fassi Fihri. 
 
¶7.  (C) In a follow-up discussion December 19, Van der 
Klaauw told Polcouns that he had been able to broker a & 
gentlemans agreement8 with the GOM to get the 11 refugees 
released from Guelmim.  He said he had committed to the GOM 
to finding an international resettlement solution for this 
group and other refugees in Morocco.  As for the other 
migrants in the Guelmin camp, Van der Klaauw believed they 
had been deported since the camp was now empty.  It was 
not, Van der Klaauw said, the kind of &safe and dignified 
return8 UNHCR hoped for in such circumstances.  Van der 
Klaauw said he would work on softening the Moroccan stance 
on refugees, convincing the GOM the problem is manageable 
and will not entail allowing thousands of people to remain 
in Morocco.  Governor Khalid Zerouali, Director for 
International Cooperation and Director of Migration and 
Border Control at the Ministry of Interior, told DCM 
December 20th that the GOM had chartered 22 Royal Air Maroc 
flights to return clandestine migrants to various locations 
in West Africa, especially Senegal.  In addition, the GOM 
had purchased some 300 airline tickets to repatriate small 
groups of migrants. 
 
------------ 
GOM Concerns 
------------ 
 
¶8.  (C) Polcouns sought clarification on GOM,s policy 
toward refugees in a meeting with Khalid Zerouali on 
December 7. Zerouali said the GOM believed the refugee and 
asylum seeker process in Morocco was rife with fraud, on 
the part of the applicants, and he said the GOM had 
legitimate security concerns about the migrant communities 
transiting Morocco.  He was specially concerned about 
trafficking "mafias" and networks that were taking 
advantage of the migrants and could be using them to carry 
out criminal activity.  He said he had underscored to UNHCR 
Rabat the importance of establishing a rigorous 
interviewing process to weed out fraudulent asylum seekers, 
armed with fake documents, from the legitimate refugees. 
Asked specifically whether the GOM would permit legitimate 
refugees to remain in Morocco, Zerouali said that was the 
MFA's domain. 
 
----------------- 
Morocco,s Dilemma 
----------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Morocco signed and ratified the 1951 Convention 
on Refugees and the 1967 Protocol, which spell out states, 
responsibilities toward refugees, as well as the 
Organization of African Unity (OUA) Convention, regarding 
migration.  However, the GOM has never developed legal 
procedures to deal with asylum seekers or refugees and is 
strongly opposed to establishing itself as a haven for 
displaced persons for fear of becoming even more of a 
magnet for those desperate to escape the problem in the 
sub-Saharan region. 
 
¶10.  (C) Currently, Van der Klaauw and UNHCR are working to 
establish a dialogue with the GOM regarding their position 
on asylum seekers.  UNHCR is making an effort to encourage 
the GOM to adopt new laws covering refugees in accordance 
with the 1951 Convention which would determine procedures 
to manage the asylum issue.  Van der Klaauw was very clear 
that he is stepping lightly regarding the matter.  He also 
alluded to the fact that he is eager for support regarding 
the issue from other signatories of the Convention and the 
U.S. in particular. 
 
--------------- 
UNHCR,s Mission 
--------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU)  While waiting for Morocco to adopt new 
legislation to protect the internationally recognized 
rights of legitimate asylum seekers, UNHCR,s mission in 
Rabat appears determined to do everything it can to shield 
those it sees as potential refugees from arrest, detention 
and deportation.  Currently the Rabat office is dealing 
with resettlement solutions for some of the 267 recognized 
refugees in Morocco, focusing on cases involving women and 
unaccompanied minors, who are the most vulnerable.  UNHCR 
says many of the asylum seekers receive aid in Morocco from 
NGOs and charities, including church groups, while some 
seem to be managing on their own. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) In recent months Morocco has been dealing with 
the issue of illegal sub-Saharan migrants on a large and 
public scale.  The death of 11 migrants in October, outside 
the two Spanish enclaves in northern Morocco received 
international coverage and raised numerous questions about 
Morocco,s (and Spain,s) policies regarding the treatment of 
illegal migrants and asylum seekers.  GOM officials portray 
Morocco as a &victim8 in the situation, forced to deal with 
thousands of illegals with limited resources and little or 
no assistance from abroad.  While it is true Morocco is 
struggling to deal with the situation, it needs to 
recognize its obligations under international law. 
 
¶13.  (C) Post believes that while we should encourage the 
GOM where and as appropriate to meet its obligations under 
international law concerning refugees, we need to proceed 
cautiously in any discussions we have with the GOM about 
the possibility of international resettlement - whether in 
the US or in Europe.  The last thing Morocco needs is to 
become a greater magnet for sub-Saharan or South Asian 
migrants.  The country is already at the breaking point - 
as a transit country, country of origin, and a destination 
- for illegal migrants. 
****************************************** 
Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat 
****************************************** 
 
Riley