Morocco: Whether a person can travel from Western Sahara to the northern part of Morocco; whether documents are necessary; if so, what documents; whether there are roadblocks and a military or police presence on the "border" between Western Sahara and Morocco; whether one can travel from and to Western Sahara and avoid the roadblocks; whether there is a Polisario Front presence on the "border" between Western Sahara and the northern part of Morocco; if so, whether it exists permanently in the form of roadblocks; whether a person can avoid such roadblocks; whether it is difficult for a Sahrawi to travel from Western Sahara to the northern part of Morocco
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 11 June 2001 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | MAR36888.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Morocco: Whether a person can travel from Western Sahara to the northern part of Morocco; whether documents are necessary; if so, what documents; whether there are roadblocks and a military or police presence on the "border" between Western Sahara and Morocco; whether one can travel from and to Western Sahara and avoid the roadblocks; whether there is a Polisario Front presence on the "border" between Western Sahara and the northern part of Morocco; if so, whether it exists permanently in the form of roadblocks; whether a person can avoid such roadblocks; whether it is difficult for a Sahrawi to travel from Western Sahara to the northern part of Morocco, 11 June 2001, MAR36888.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be6628.html [accessed 19 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. |
The Lonely Planet guide to Morocco gives the following information about travelling from the nothern part of Morocco to the Western Sahara: "Apart from the endless police roadblocks and checks, going south to Dakhla [south of Western Sahara] is now a routine affair" ( 1998, 448).
The following information on the freedom of movement can be found in the Country Reports for 2000.
Freedom of movement within the Western Sahara is limited in militarily sensitive areas, both within the area controlled by the Government of Morocco and the area controlled by the Polisario. Both Moroccan and Polisario security forces sometimes subject travelers to arbitrary questioning. There were no reports of detention for prolonged periods during the year (2001).
In 1999, a journalist from the left-leaning French newspaper l'Humanité stated that since 1975, Morocco had brought 200 000 members of the Moroccon security forces to Western Sahara (25 Nov. 1999). According to the same article, Laayoune is a city "under siege": there are frequent checks by the police and the military of all cars and trucks (ibid.). An "S" appears on the national identity card of the Sahrawis (ibid.). Most of the Sahrawis do not have passports as it is issued to them only on very special occasions (ibid.). L'Humanité states as well that it is very risky for Sahrawis to leave Western Sahara (ibid.). The newspaper does not give more details on this topic.
No information on whether you can avoid these roadblocks, on the presence of the Polisario Front at the "border" between Western Sahara and the northern part of Morocco could be found by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999. 2000. United States Department of State. Washington, DC.
Lonely Planet. 1998. Gordon Frances Linzee and alt. Morocco. Hawthorn, Australia: Lonely Planet.
L'Humanité [Paris]. 29 November 1999. "Enquête. Le Sahara occidental à la veille du référendum d'autodétarmination sous l'égide de l'ONU."
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB databases
The Middle East [London].
Middle East International [London/New York].
Middle East Report [Washington].
Mideast Mirror [London].
Monde arabe Maghreb-Machrek [Paris].
Two oral sources did not have information on the topic.
Three sources did not respond to information request.
Internet sites including:
Amnesty International
Arso-Association de soutien à un référendum libre et régulier au Sahara occidental
Association marocaine des droits de l'homme
Centre Europe Tiers-monde
FIDH
Home Office-Immigration and Nationality Directorate
Human Rights Watch
Index on Africa: Western Sahara
Le Courrier international
Le Monde diplomatique
Lonely Planet
News/Middle East News Online
Sahara Press Service
Washingtonpost.com
Western Sahara Travel Guide
Western Sahara Weekly
Western Sahara/Sahara occidental
Search engines including:
Metacrawler
