Mr Hicham Mellati, Director of Criminal Affairs, Pardons and Crime Observation, Coordinator of the National Commission for the Coordination of Measures to Combat and Prevent Trafficking in Human Beings, took part on Thursday 30 January 2025 in the round table organised at the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior by the National Observatory on Migration on the theme “Humanised Border Management: From Managing Vulnerabilities to Driving Opportunities”;
On this occasion, Mr Mellati highlighted the efforts made by the Kingdom of Morocco to promote regional initiatives aimed at strengthening African integration, promoting South-South cooperation, developing national legislation on migration and sustaining the strategic orientations of the National Strategy on Immigration and Asylum (SNIA), as well as the achievements of all national stakeholders in humanising border management and providing the necessary protection to victims within the framework of implementing the Kingdom’s strategic orientations in the field of migration flow management.
The meeting was also an opportunity to recall the provisions and measures for the prevention of trafficking and the protection of victims set out in Law 27-14 on combating trafficking in human beings, underlining the role of the National Referral Mechanism for victims of trafficking in human beings in promoting early detection, particularly among migrant populations, who are among the most vulnerable groups owing to their association with irregular migration routes.
In addition, the proceedings of the round table included a presentation by the representative of the Permanent Secretariat of the National Commission on the “National Referral Mechanism for Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings at Borders”; this mechanism aims to organise the arrangements for coordinating efforts when implementing procedures and measures for the protection of and assistance to victims of trafficking in human beings, including migrants, following a participatory, integrated and humane approach, by identifying the organisational and procedural means that ensure the early detection of victims and refer them to services suited to their needs in order to assist and protect them, within an integrated approach involving all institutional actors and national stakeholders.
The meeting was also attended by representatives of a number of government sectors, bodies and institutions concerned with migration and border management, as well as representatives of international organisations, diplomatic missions and international experts in this field, in order to showcase the Moroccan model of humanised border management and the protection of victims of trafficking in human beings and of migrants at borders, and to highlight the role of civil society in strengthening the momentum for the protection of migrants.
