Morocco: What are the details of compulsory military service in Morocco? Who has to serve? What are the age requirements? Is Morocco engaged in any wars or hostilities? Does it send troops abroad?
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 August 1990 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | MAR6671 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Morocco: What are the details of compulsory military service in Morocco? Who has to serve? What are the age requirements? Is Morocco engaged in any wars or hostilities? Does it send troops abroad?, 1 August 1990, MAR6671, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aca470.html [accessed 31 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
According to Africa Contemporary Record, conscription in Morocco last for a period of 18 months (B 557). According to the Defense attaché at the Moroccan Embassy in Washington, contacted on 21 August 1990, the age of recruitment is 18. This information was corroborated by a source at the Arab League in Ottawa on 21 August 1990. Article 16 of the Moroccan Constitution mentions that "all citizens shall participate in the defense of the country" (Blaustein, and, Flanz, 2).
An oral source at the Arab League in Ottawa, contacted on 21 August 1990, reported that one of the exemptions for compulsory military service in Morocco is for students pursuing higher education. This information was corroborated on 21 August 1990, at the Maghreb Desk of the Francophone Africa Division at External Affairs in Ottawa.
Published information is currently unavailable to corroborate these sources at the IRBDC in Ottawa.
In 1975, Spain withdrew as a colonial power from the Western Sahara (The Economist, 41). Morocco claimed this territory through ancient right of kingship (Ibid.). Local Saharawi (people of nomadic origin from Western Sahara) notables, supported by Algeria, attempted to create an independent state (Ibid.). The resulting war was indecisive (Le Monde, 6). Morocco built 2,500 kilometres of defensive walls, which have been successful in keeping the Saharawi fighting groups outside from the region (Marks, D3). According to Le Devoir, a United Nations sponsored peace agreement was signed 30 August 1988 in Geneva between Morocco and the Polisario Front (A5). As a result of the Arab Summit in Cairo, Morocco agreed to send 1,000 soldiers to defend Saudi Arabia ("Iraq", 10).
Bibliography
"Peace (Continued)", The Economist, 3 September 1990.
"Le Maroc et le Front Polisario acceptent le plan de paix de l'ONU", Le Devoir, mercredi, 31 août 1988.
"L'Irak marchande ses otages", Le Devoir, lundi 20 août 1990.
"Fin De Partie Au Sahara?", Le Monde, 1-7 September, 1988.
Marks, Jon, "Morocco's Walls Across the Desert Turn Tide in War for Spanish Sahara", The Globe And Mail, 8 August 1987.
Legum, Colin, Africa Contemporary Record, Vol. XIX, 1986-87, London : Africana Publisher Company, 1988.
Blaustein, A., and Flanz, G., "Morocco", Constitutions Of The Countries Of The World, New-York : Oceana Publications Inc., 1990.
