NGO Claims Spain has ‘Subcontracted’ Border Control To Moroccans

A Spanish non-governmental association has slammed Spain for “subcontracting” illegal migrant border control to Moroccan authorities but has noted a substantial decrease in illegal arrivals to Spain last year.

A report from the Association for Human Rights of Andalusia (Apdha) has accused Spain of “subcontracting repression” to Morocco following a deal between the two countries last year that saw Spain recognize Morocco’s claims to the Western Sahara region, ending a year of tense diplomatic relations.

While the Apdha has claimed that Spain has allowed Morocco to police the border, particularly the land border between the two Spanish North African exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, the NGO recognized that illegal entries have dramatically fallen last year as well, El Mundo reports.

According to the NGO, in 2022 the number of migrants illegally entering the two Spanish cities fell by 83 per cent compared to 2021, while the number of illegal entries through all routes to Spain fell by 39.2 per cent last year.

Apdha has been critical of Morocco’s methods in controlling the border, accusing Moroccan authorities of violence, noting the incident in June of last year at the border with Melilla in which around twenty migrants out of a mob of 400 died while trying to illegally cross into the Spanish city.

Statistics also indicate that despite the number of illegals crossing successfully into Spain last year, the number of deaths of people trying to make the dangerous crossings, particularly the highly dangerous sea route to the Spanish Canasry islands, remained high last year.

The Apdha report claimed that a total of 707 migrants were confirmed to have died after being led to their deaths by people smugglers while trying to reach Spain in 2022 and another 1,194 were reported as missing.

While Spain saw a decrease in migrant arrivals in 2022, many of the other illegal immigrant routes to Europe saw substantial increases in traffic, such as the Balkan route, which increased by 152 per cent in the first eleven months of 2022, according to the European Union border agency Frontex.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.