The dual logic of European externalisation: protection and deportation in Morocco

Abstract

The European Union's border externalisation policies have driven the simultaneous creation in third countries of frameworks to protect the rights of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers and other policies on control, detention transfer and deportation. This process can be observed in the case of Morocco, where Law 02-03 legalises deportation, while the new National Strategy for Immigration and Asylum establishes a framework for protection. This article examines the case of Morocco and specifically the practices of arbitrary detention in informal centres, forced displacement and the deportation of people from West and Central Africa between 2019 and 2021 based on primary and secondary sources and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.