Moroccan Rights Group OMDH Warns of ‘Serious Violations’ in Ceuta

Rabat – Morocco’s Organization for Human Rights (OMDH) has sounded the alarm over what it describes as “serious violations” targeting Moroccan nationals in Ceuta after the latest wave of crossings into the Spanish enclave.

In a statement issued today, the group said it follows the situation “with deep concern,” pointing to what it calls a worsening humanitarian crisis affecting Moroccans stranded in the city.

Among them are children and minors who now face what the organization described as “dire living conditions” that demand “urgent intervention to protect their lives, their physical integrity, and their dignity.”

The OMDH said accounts from the ground, backed by field observations and testimonies, reveal a stark reality. 

“A large number of these citizens face a severe shortage of food and water,” the statement said, adding that many rely “almost entirely on limited aid provided by residents of Moroccan origin in Ceuta and by a number of local associations.”

The group urged authorities to act without delay. “It is necessary to ensure immediate access to food, water, shelter, and all basic needs for those present in the occupied city,” it said.

The organization also called for access to healthcare, stressing the need to protect both physical and mental health in a context it describes as increasingly fragile. It placed particular emphasis on the situation of women and minors, warning against risks of abuse. 

The OMDH called on authorities to “protect women and minors, boys and girls, from all forms of violence, exploitation, and human trafficking,” and demanded judicial investigations into reported cases of abuse, including “sexual assault and harassment,” cited in testimonies collected on site.

The statement also pointed to the role of civil society groups that continue to provide legal, medical, psychological, and food assistance under difficult conditions. 

The organization called for support to these initiatives, urging authorities to “facilitate their work and ensure the continuity of their services under appropriate conditions.”

Through this appeal, the OMDH described the situation in Ceuta as a pressing humanitarian issue and called on Spanish authorities to assume their responsibilities, with particular attention to the protection of minors, access to essential needs, and accountability for alleged abuses.