Spain High Court Rules 2021 Mass Deportation of Minors to Morocco Was Illegal

Spain High Court Rules 2021 Mass Deportation of Minors to Morocco Was Illegal

The Spanish Supreme Court ruled Monday that a 2021 mass deportation of minors from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta to Morocco was illegal.

Hundreds of unaccompanied minors were part of a group of around 12,000 people who tried to enter Ceuta from Morocco in May 2021 by scaling a border fence or swimming around it, VOA reports.

The mass border crossing took place amid a diplomatic dispute between Madrid and Rabat regarding Western Sahara.

After the border crossing, approximately 700 minors were deported to Morocco, despite Spanish law that requires the government to take administrative steps for each minor it deports, including collecting information on their circumstances and holding a hearing if deemed necessary.

Government lawyers cited a 2007 agreement between Spain and Morocco outlining the process for assisted returns to Morocco in the case of “exceptional circumstances,” but the Supreme Court dismissed this defense, ruling that it did not supersede Spanish law.

The court ruled that the deportation violated the “physical and moral integrity” of the migrants and breached the European Human Rights Convention. It cited Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 of the European Human Rights Convention, which says that the “Collective expulsion of aliens is prohibited.”