The Government of Morocco does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period; therefore Morocco remained on Tier 2. These efforts included the identification of more victims, the designation of 42 prosecutors to specialize in trafficking cases, and the conviction of five traffickers. It also took steps toward implementing a draft national victim referral mechanism.
However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. It remained without victim identification and referral procedures, and it did not report proactively identifying trafficking victims, especially among the sub-Saharan African migrant community – many of whom preferred to seek asylum or refugee status in Europe – that remained highly vulnerable to trafficking in Morocco. As a result, unidentified victims among vulnerable populations remained at risk of penalization, including arrest and forcible displacement, and re-trafficking. The government also did not provide or fund specialized protection services specifically for trafficking victims.
Adapted from TIP 2019 by the U.S. Department of State
