Spain’s Supreme Court has ruled that Spanish authorities acted illegally when they sent unaccompanied child migrants back to Morocco in 2021.
MADRID — Spain’s Supreme Court on Monday found authorities acted illegally when sending unaccompanied child migrants back to Morocco after thousands were forcibly relocated from the North African country to Spanish territory in 2021. handed down a judgment.
Hundreds of unaccompanied minors were among the roughly 10,000 people who tried to enter the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa by climbing the border fence or swimming around it. It was included.
Many were thought to be migrants from south of the Sahara seeking a better life in Europe. Morocco has since returned most of the migrants.
Spain’s interior ministry defended sending unaccompanied children back across the border, saying they wanted to return home. Spanish authorities have denied accusations by rights groups that the return violates international law.
Spain has a legal obligation to care for young migrants until relatives can be found or until they turn 18, but officials say the 2007 agreement between Spain and Morocco that He said that an agreement on repatriation support in the event of an emergency is being considered.
Supreme Court judges rejected arguments that the 2007 agreement superseded Spanish law and said mass repatriations would violate the European Convention on Human Rights.
Every year, tens of thousands of migrants from sub-Saharan countries attempt to reach Spain in large open boats that depart from northwest Africa. Most head to the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, but others cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach mainland Spain or attempt to scale the fence in Ceuta.
Thousands of people are known to have died during the dangerous voyage.
___
Follow AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration.