EU Norms and Values Stopped in Melilla
Over 23 migrants or more fleeing war zones in sub-Saharan Africa were crushed to death in the Spanish enclave of Melilla by the security forces, who should have protected them – accusations the Spanish government denies. How are we to interpret the responsibility of Spain, as well as the EU more broadly, in the Melilla events and its implications for human rights and the rule of law?
On the 24th of June 2022, at least 23 people were crushed to death in Barrio Chino – potentially more, as 70 people still appear to be missing after the tragedy of that day. These people were migrants, mostly from Sudan fleeing the Darfour war zone, who tried to cross the borders between Morocco and Spain, climbing a fence that reaches up to 8 meters in some areas. The BBC reports on the highly disturbing events, where not only the Spanish government, but also the EU as a whole may be guilty and as such, should be held accountable. Let us take a step-by-step look at the events.
Footage from the day shows Moroccan security forces attacking the migrants, who climbed down to Barrio Chino from the hills surrounding it. The forces seemed to be using smoke and sound bombs, as well as beating migrants violently with sticks and truncheons. In the coverage, one of the survivors mentions that the crowd started to panic when they realized the forces were using such weapons, highlighting the danger of such bombs that can “be very painful, cut your abdomen and break your arm.”
At this point, the footage clearly shows migrants being driven towards the fence, backed into a corner by the armed security force. Many seemed to consider climbing the fence as the only way to escape the violence behind them: they were trapped. The security forces had advanced to the front of the courtyard’s blue gates – where many migrants that climbed the fence were trapped.
“We Are Not Criminals”
Another survivor reports that the migrants could not retreat – the forces kept throwing smoke bombs and as a consequence people trapped began to suffocate. According to the witness, the forces could have brought people out of the courtyard and arrested them. But instead, the migrants were cornered and left to suffocate during the stampede in the courtyard.
Indeed, one of the first questions that comes into mind is why should the security forces be armed with bombs and truncheons to engage with people moving towards a border. In today’s world and rhetoric, where some migrants are defined as “illegal,” it feels as if we gave up on using our critical thinking skills when responding to such situations involving unarmed people trying to make their way to the border. In which reality would people trapped in a corner with their hands up ever require bombs and truncheons as a response?
On Illegality
They are unarmed, but they have tried to cross the border “illegally,” and this explains why the movement is perceived as a security issue, some might say. But why are some people – fleeing war and crossing borders – refugees to our communities, while others are crushed to death, suffocated in a courtyard, and left to die with no medical intervention? Why is the illegality of border crossing shifting depending on the migrants crossing it, and how – even if we could indeed argue for an illegality of crossing – can we still justify such means to engage with unarmed people in movement? Because if the issue is legality, these people could have been arrested, as one survivor pointed out.
No One’s Land
Sources present in Melilla on the day of the attack show how Moroccan security forces entered Spanish territory and took migrants back to Moroccan territory, while holding them at gunpoint. They were not allowed to request asylum in Spain, but instead were taken back to Morocco by force, beaten, tossed around, and their bodies piled up within the courtyard and outside of it. Part of the courtyard where the stampede took place, called “no one’s land” by the Spanish authorities, is Spanish territory. Footage shows the lifeless bodies of some migrants on Spanish territory moved by Moroccan security forces. The ones alive were returned to Morocco – allegedly over 300 people – through pushbacks in breach of international law.
Why Such a Change in the Moroccan Approach?
It is worth mentioning that Morocco did not use to react in such a violent and securitized way when engaging with migrants trying to cross the borders. Throughout 2021, footage shows migrants crossing borders under the watchful eye of careless Moroccan security forces. As a result, diplomatic relations between Spain and Morocco became tense. However, in April 2022, Spain agreed to give Morocco more financial support to defend its border. Thus, Morocco followed suit by tightening its border controls.
But the title of the bigger culprit seems to go to the EU, which just weeks after the Melilla tragedy, agreed on a new partnership with Morocco on migration control, including 500 million euros to be paid during the next five years to this effect. Although it insists that human rights are at the heart of its relations with other countries and regions, the EU is actually paying a third country to stop migration flows and denying people their right to seek asylum.
Who’s a “Normal” Migrant?
What seems even more disturbing in this tragic dystopian scenario is the portrayal of the people whose lives and dignity were taken away by smoke bombs and truncheons. Khalid Zerouali, director of Migration and Border Surveillance in Morocco’s Interior Ministry, defines these migrants as “abnormal migrants”– people coming from conflict zones and, therefore, people who participated in the war, ready to cause trouble. This discourse appears to be used as a tactic of dehumanizing and securitizing unarmed human beings in movement.
Abuse of Human Rights
The Spanish government claimed that the Melilla events did not take place on Spanish territory. Even if this was true, why would an organization self-proclaimed, as the defender of human rights and rule of law globally, draft a deal and fund the very country whose security forces crushed and attacked unarmed human beings? The EU’s legitimacy and credibility as a normative power might reach a new all-time low – especially after the Spanish claim that any rejections at the border were made according to Spanish law and endorsed by none other than the European Court of Human Rights.
Is This Sustainable Governance?
But how should the events in Melilla be interpreted? What happened on the 24th of June was not an accident but rather the outcome of a government’s decisions and actions. Such governance is destined to flourish under a system that encourages and empowers violent and highly militarized approaches to people on the move. It will be increasingly challenging for the EU to simultaneously continue to defend human rights and to finance the already mentioned border protection cooperations outside its borders. As a result, the EU increasingly risks losing its credibility as a normative, reliable and powerful actor in international relations.
Anna Marino is a Doctoral researcher at the nccr – on the move, the University of Neuchâtel working on the project “Narratives of Crisis and Their Influence in Shaping Discourses and Policies of Migration and Mobility,” which aims to better understand the role of crisis narratives in the context of human mobility governance.
References:
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