Hommam Al Nassim 
At least 32 people, mostly Moroccan minors, have died while desperately trying to reach the Spanish enclave of Melilla by swimming.
The shocking events are part of a report by the NGO Solidarity Wales, which called for urgent action to stop these tragic deaths and improve security policies to protect human rights.
According to the organization’s report, most of the victims were Moroccan minors, and their bodies were found on the Moroccan coast and the coast of Melilla itself.
Authorities recovered at least 32 bodies during the first three months of 2024, making advocacy for change in security policies essential.
Solidarity Wales appealed for improved economic and social conditions in countries of origin, safe and legal alternatives to migration, as well as international cooperation to address this humanitarian crisis, and stressed the need for security efforts to be balanced with full respect for human rights and people’s lives.
These tragic deaths come in the context of a rise in the number of migrants trying to reach safe places across the Mediterranean, due to the tightening of land barriers and “smart” electronic border control systems, as well as the increase in the prices of illegal migration.
Melilla-based Solidary Wells also monitored a “massacre” of migrants in June 2022, with more than 24 people killed at Melilla’s land border while trying to climb barriers.
These events come within the framework of the need to adopt an effective humanitarian response and international cooperation to confront this humanitarian crisis, by improving living conditions in countries of origin and providing safe and legal alternatives to migration.
Morocco is the second most migrant-exporting African country after Egypt