Combatting racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia targeting migrants in Morocco

The “Living together without discrimination” project financed by the European Union Emergency Trust Fund and co-managed by FIIAPP and AECID organised the training course: “Preventing, identifying and combating racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia targeting migrant men and women in Morocco” given by the University of Salamanca (USAL).  

In the last twenty years, Morocco has gone from being a country of emigration to a country of transit, reception and settlement of immigrants. In many cases, this migration process involves a forced itinerary in difficult conditions for migrants; migrants who arrive in precarious circumstances and who have to face the challenges thrown up by the new environment. This new migratory movement is making Moroccan society face new realities that are gradually being taken into account by different political, economic and social areas. Given this context, “Living together without discrimination”, seeks to strengthen Moroccan actors in the fight against racism and xenophobia from a human and gender rights approach.   

This short training course comprised 10 working sessions aimed at improving the capabilities of the project’s technical teams in the fight against racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia.  

The USAL team was characterised by its multidisciplinary nature, made up as it was of 5 lecturers, severally expert in social anthropology, the theory of migratory phenomena, international law and social science research techniques, among other subjects. The course’s student profiles were likewise diverse, coming from partner institutions and key organisations such as the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, among others.  

The course saw teams work in a participatory manner on key issues relating to the Moroccan context. Dialogue was encouraged on the causes and consequences of racism, which positively impacted on awareness in the fight against the different forms of discrimination and xenophobia being practised. Likewise, the training contributed to discussing and clarifying concepts and to working with a holistic view of racial discrimination, while also taking into account issues such as gender, age and disability. The sessions gave participants a chance to delve deeper into the framework within which the institutions act, the promotion of best practices, as well as into how to deal with possible victims of racism and xenophobia.