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DE RUEHCL #0160/01 2191229
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 071229Z AUG 09
FM AMCONSUL CASABLANCA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8479
INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHAB/AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN IMMEDIATE 0009
RUEHBP/AMEMBASSY BAMAKO IMMEDIATE 0290
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA IMMEDIATE 0006
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID IMMEDIATE 3878
RUEHNM/AMEMBASSY NIAMEY IMMEDIATE 0283
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA IMMEDIATE 0678

UNCLAS CASABLANCA 000160 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PASS TO NEA/MAG AND PRM/AFR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREF
SUBJECT: VIOLENCE AT UNHCR HIGHLIGHTS MOROCCO,S REFUGEE 
DILEMMA 
 
REF: 2008 CASABLANCA 168 
 
¶1. (SBU) Moroccan police clashed with sub-Saharan 
refugees after a two-week long sit-in at the United 
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) 
headquarters in Rabat, resulting in five arrests and 
numerous injuries including a senior police officer. 
The five detained refugees were initially charged 
with illegal entry to Morocco and faced potential 
expulsion in addition to criminal charges.  Although 
the refugees in the end received lenient sentences 
and were not returned to their countries of origin, 
UNHCR reported the incident has darkened its 
relations with the Government of Morocco (GOM) and 
with the refugee community.  This outburst of 
violence highlights the ambiguous status of refugees 
in Morocco and the GOM's reluctance to deal with 
asylum issues despite taking numerous positive steps 
in the last few years to fulfill its international 
obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention. 
 
-------------------- 
Sit-in Turns Violent 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Approximately 50 refugees including women 
and children staged a sit-in that began on June 15 
in front of UNHCR headquarters (HQ) in Rabat to 
protest the lack of resettlements to Europe and the 
US.  The group, which consisted largely of refugees 
from Cote d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of 
the Congo (DRC), maintained a 24 hour vigil in spite 
of efforts by UN representatives and the Moroccan 
security forces to resolve the stand off.  In the 
middle of the night on June 27, police forcibly 
removed the refugees from UNHCR HQ and drove them in 
vans to the neighborhoods where they live.  The 
refugees returned the following morning to UNHCR but 
were dissuaded from continuing their protest by 
threats from the police and the promise that UNHCR 
representatives would continue talks with the group 
soon thereafter. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The subsequent July 2 meeting, held at 
another UN building 100 meters from UNHCR, was brief 
and ended with the refugee leaders storming out 
intent on continuing their protest.  According to 
Johannes Van Der Klaauw, the Chief of Mission for 
UNHCR, the refugees were aggressive and a melee 
broke out between them and the police forces. 
During this confrontation, a refugee hit a senior 
police officer with a club which broke the officer's 
arm, for which he received medical care and 60 days 
off from work.  The refugees also threw stones and 
attacked the headquarters of UNHCR.  During a visit 
to the site of the melee, poloff saw the shattered 
glass of the Director's office and destroyed 
security cameras.  All told, six refugees were taken 
to the hospital for treatment and five were 
arrested.  The remaining group of refugees dispersed 
and quickly moved towards the US Embassy, which is 
located in close proximity.  The refugees remained 
outside of the Embassy for a few minutes and the 
police then removed them.  At the same time, a 
second group began moving towards the northwestern 
entrance of the Embassy.  Police were quickly 
dispatched to this location and dispersed the second 
group of protestors.  Finally, a third group formed 
outside of the vehicle barrier located in the 
southwest corner of the Embassy.  Police responded 
and dispersed this crowd, as well.  One Embassy 
Guard sustained minor injuries to his leg during the 
encounter and no Americans or locally engaged staff 
members were harmed. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Criminal charges were brought against five 
of the refugees for attacking a security officer, 
rioting, and for illegal entry into the Kingdom.  In 
signed police statements, the five refugees, four of 
whom were Ivoirians and one Congolese, all confessed 
to attacking the officer, being economic migrants 
illegally present in Morocco, and making false 
statements to UNHCR to obtain refugee status. 
 
Defense lawyers argued the statement were not 
credible considering that they were written in 
Arabic (Note: the suspects are illiterate and do not 
speak Arabic), and all the statements were 
identically worded. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Van Der Klaauw told poloff that although 
UNHCR did not want to appear to interfere with the 
judicial process in Morocco, he had spoken to 
"influential people" in the GOM and warned them that 
if the refugees were expelled, he would have to 
speak out forcefully against the GOM.  The Court of 
First Instance in Sale announced on July 27 
sentences of one month in prison, fines of 
approximately $60 US dollars, and dismissed charges 
of illegal entry.  The sentence amounted to time- 
served and was considered by UNHCR and others to be 
lenient. 
 
------------------ 
Refugee Grievances 
------------------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) Mohammed Camara, a student from Guinea who 
has worked with the refugee community as a social 
worker for UNHCR's implementing partner, told poloff 
that the eruption of anger and violence should have 
been anticipated.  The refugees, he explained, 
refuse to accept a long-term future in Morocco as a 
durable solution and believe resettlement in Europe 
or the US is the only answer.  This problem, he 
noted, is exacerbated by the GOM's refusal to grant 
refugees Moroccan residency permits and hence the 
right to work and access other services. (Reftel) 
The refugees feel let down and angry with UNHCR for 
a perceived lack of financial assistance and the 
infrequency of resettlements, he added.  Some of the 
refugees also believe that UNHCR exhibits favoritism 
to certain nationalities by resettling more recent 
arrivals before others.  Van Der Klaauw bristled at 
criticism of favoritism and argued that UNHCR has 
successfully resettled some cases, but only for 
those who meet the 1951 Refugee Convention 
definition of refugee.  He noted that of the 
approximately 750 recognized refugees in Morocco, 65 
percent are from Cote d'Ivoire and the DRC, most of 
whom were granted protection under the UHCR's 
extended mandate definition.  Donor countries are 
generally reluctant to accept these extended mandate 
cases, he added. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Van Der Klaauw lamented that relations with 
the GOM have been negatively affected by this 
outburst of violence.  He noted that the GOM has not 
taken any steps in the last year to establish an 
asylum office capable of adjudicating refugee 
claims, screening applicants at the border, or 
update laws to comply with international 
obligations.  Van Der Klaauw reported that the delay 
is the responsibility of the Ministry of Interior 
(MOI) which is wary of taking steps that it believes 
will either encourage clandestine migration or 
threaten the border security of Morocco.  The 
prevailing view within the security services was 
expressed to poloff by a senior MOI official in the 
Office of Borders and Migration Security who argued 
that all refugees in Morocco are actually economic 
migrants since they have passed through numerous 
other countries in their journey to reach Europe. 
However, the GOM has indicated to UNHCR that they 
are willing to work to find solutions on a case by 
case basis for the most vulnerable individuals; 
normally, these solutions entail the granting of 
residence permits. 
 
¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: Morocco has recently taken 
numerous positive steps to comply with its 1951 
Convention obligations including signing a country 
agreement with UNHCR in 2008 and putting an end to 
the expulsion of recognized refugees.  In fact, the 
GOM's decision to not expel the refugees affirms its 
commitment to the principle of non-refoulement.  The 
MOI is understandably reluctant to create what it 
 
believes are incentives for the migrant communities 
to come to Morocco.  Morocco's transformation from a 
country of origin for migration to a country of 
transit and destination is difficult for the GOM to 
reconcile with its stated goal of complying 
international obligations regarding refugees. 
Despite this dilemma, asylum reform, like most 
reform in Morocco, continues to moves forward 
slowly. 
 
¶9.  This message was coordinated with Embassy Rabat. 
MILLARD