The government modestly increased overall efforts to protect trafficking victims. The government began implementing the NRM approved in March 2023; as part of the implementation, the government drafted and approved a guide for identifying potential victims in April 2023 and published it online. The government also published a guide to identify child victims for criminal justice practitioners in April 2023; the government did not report how widely these identification guides were socialized with front-line responders or implemented. In 2023, the government identified 169 trafficking victims, compared with the identification of 166 victims in 2022. Of the 169 victims, 128 were sex trafficking victims and 42 forced labor victims (including two forced begging victims, 25 victims of “practices similar to slavery,” and seven forced criminality victims); numerous victims experienced multiple forms of exploitation. The identified 169 victims included 52 men, 28 boys, 44 women, and 45 girls. Ten identified victims were foreign nationals; the government identified 10 foreign victims in 2022. The government provided shelter for 11 victims, medical assistance for three victims, and other unspecified measures for 39 victims; the government did not report what services it provided to the other 116 victims aside from legal assistance. In 2022, the government referred all 166 identified victims to government, NGO, or international organization shelters and services. Each branch of the National Security Directorate maintained a support unit for women victims of violence to ensure a more victim-centered approach to sensitive cases, including cases involving female trafficking victims, and their referral to services.
The government did not provide shelter or psycho-social services specific to the needs of victims of all forms of trafficking and the lack of shelters and protection services for victims continued to impede overall protection efforts. The government continued coordinating with NGOs, international organizations, and foreign donors to establish four specialized shelters for trafficking victims in 2024 – including for women and children in Tangier-Tetouan and Fez-Meknes, and for an unspecified demographic of trafficking victims in Marrakech – with plans to eventually establish specialized shelters in all 12 provinces; the shelters were not operational at the end of the reporting period. In the meantime, the government continued to provide services to female and child victims of violence – including potential trafficking victims – at 40 reception centers staffed by nurses and social workers at major hospitals, as well as in Ministry of Justice (MOJ) protection units in Moroccan courts. Moroccan law enforcement agencies reportedly continued to utilize focal points to work directly with these reception centers and MOJ units, and they continued to use a list of NGO service providers to whom authorities could refer trafficking victims for care. The government reported these services were available to adult male victims but acknowledged the shelters were more difficult for male victims to access. Prosecutors in the courts of first instance and the courts of appeal – in coordination with the Ministry of Health (MOH) – had the authority to order trafficking victims placed in the care of a hospital or civil society organization. The government also reported it designated an unspecified number of officials responsible for identifying and referring trafficking victims to psycho-social support, medical services, and legal aid in courts throughout the country, but did not report whether these officials or prosecutors referred any victims to protection services. The government continued to rely heavily on NGOs and international organizations to provide assistance to victims and provided some financial assistance to organizations assisting child labor and child trafficking victims but did not otherwise report providing financial resources to organizations assisting trafficking victims. However, the government solicited proposals in February 2024 to fund up to 25 civil society organizations – with a $200,000 combined budget – to protect victims and prevent trafficking; proposals were not finalized at the end of the reporting period. The government continued to encourage victims to cooperate in investigations against traffickers, including through protecting victims’ privacy and providing legal assistance and physical security; the government did not report the number of victims who did so during the reporting period, beyond providing initial statements to law enforcement nor did it report if victims received restitution from traffickers. Courts ordered suspects to not contact victims in seven cases. Victims filed 160 civil cases in 2023; courts awarded an unreported number of victims a total of 1,890 dirhams ($190) through civil actions. The government assisted in the voluntary repatriation of three foreign trafficking victims. The government did not report providing legal alternatives to the removal of foreign victims of trafficking to countries where they might face retribution or hardship, aside from coordinating with international organizations on asylum and refugee cases and authorizing foreign victims to remain in Morocco until the end of judicial proceedings; the government did not report how many temporary residence permits it issued to trafficking victims during the reporting period.
The Ministry of Interior continued to lead the government’s National Strategy for Immigration and Asylum, which aimed to regularize the legal status of refugees and asylum-seekers, including trafficking victims. Under this strategy, foreign trafficking victims could benefit from various services, including reintegration assistance, education, vocational training, social services, and legal aid. However, the government did not report proactively identifying potential trafficking victims during these regularization efforts or how many foreign trafficking victims, if any, benefited from these services. Due to the lack of proactive screening and identification measures, some foreign trafficking victims may have remained unidentified. Furthermore, foreign trafficking victims – especially among the sub-Saharan African undocumented migrant population – remained vulnerable to penalization solely for immigration offenses committed as a direct result of being trafficked. Undocumented migrants reported they feared arrest and deportation and therefore were reluctant to report trafficking or other types of crimes to the police.
from 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report – U.S. Department of State
2024 Trafficking in Persons Report – United States Department of State
