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Friday 20 October 2017

IOM Director-General Hails Morocco's "Humanist” Policy on Immigration

Vocal synthesis
IOM Director-General Hails Morocco's


Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), William Lacy Swing, hailed on Thursday in Skhirat (Rabat outskirts) Morocco’s "humanist and exemplary policy at the regional and continental levels" on migration and asylum under the high patronage of HM King Mohammed VI.


"I congratulate the Kingdom of Morocco, under the high patronage of HM King Mohammed VI, for this humanist and exemplary policy on a regional and continental scale", Lacy Swing said at a meeting organized by the delegate ministry in charge of Moroccans living abroad and Migration Affairs on the occasion of the celebration of the fourth anniversary of the launching of Morocco’s national immigration and asylum policy.

The Moroccan policy on migration and asylum is a "pioneering experiment in the region" and shows the willingness to respect migrants’ rights, he noted, expressing IOM's support for the government and non-governmental actors to integrate migration into key sectors, including health and local development.

In this regard, IOM Chief said that his organization works closely with ministries and the various stakeholders involved to better operationalize the migration policy, in line with the advanced regionalization framework.

IOM also supports the implementation of Morocco’s National Immigration and Asylum Strategy, in partnership with other UN agencies in Morocco.

After reintegrating its African family in January 2017, the Kingdom was given the responsibility of managing migration issues within the African Union, he said, stressing that Morocco, by capitalizing on this dynamic, can play an important role in promoting good migration governance in the region and in the world.

The Kingdom "gives an exemplary response" to the many challenges of migration, and "regularly affirms on a regional and international scale its leading role in driving positive change," he said.

He noted, in this regard, that Morocco co-chairs the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), whose 11th summit will be held in Marrakech in December 2018.

The organization of this meeting is part of the evaluation of the national immigration and asylum policy and will help to assess national consultations on the Global Compact for Migration adopted in New York on 19 September 2016.

 20 October 2017