Moroccan minors in Ceuta: Why their return to Morocco remains complicated

 

Moroccan minors in Ceuta: Why their return to Morocco remains complicated

 

After the return to Morocco of almost all Moroccan adults who entered Ceuta during the crisis of July 30 and 31, the situation of unaccompanied minors has now become one of the main issues between Rabat and Madrid. Morocco has requested their return and said it is ready to cooperate with Spain to identify them and arrange for their care. But unlike adults, these young people cannot simply be sent back across the border.

 

Omar Soussi

Publié

Le 12/08/2026 à 18h30

https://en.yabiladi.com/articles/details/200565/moroccan-minors-ceuta-their-return.html

 

Moroccan Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi has called for the return of Moroccan minors currently in Spain, including those who arrived in Ceuta during the latest wave of migration. His appeal follows royal instructions issued to the relevant Moroccan ministries to facilitate the identification and return of the children.

 

The precise number of minors concerned, however, remains unclear. According to the latest figures released on August 12, Spanish authorities registered 1,527 unaccompanied minors in Ceuta following the crisis. That figure does not necessarily correspond to the number who arrived on July 30 and 31, as some were already in the city before the mass crossings.

 

An agreement already exists between Rabat and Madrid

Contrary to what is sometimes suggested, Spanish law does not prohibit the return of Moroccan minors. Since 2007, Madrid and Rabat have had a specific agreement on cooperation in preventing the irregular migration of unaccompanied minors, protecting them and arranging their «agreed return».

 

The agreement provides for cooperation between the two countries to trace the minors’ families and, where the necessary conditions are met, return them to their relatives or place them in the care of the competent Moroccan services.

 

It does not, however, allow collective or automatic returns. Spanish law requires the authorities to determine, in each individual case, whether returning a child is in their best interests. The administration must gather information about the child’s family circumstances, consult the Moroccan authorities and give the minor an opportunity to be heard. The public prosecutor’s office must also be involved in the procedure.

 

The requirement for an individual assessment explains why minors could not be treated in the same way as adults during immediate border pushbacks. Entering Spanish-administered territory irregularly does not deprive them of their status as children under the protection of the Spanish authorities.

 

The 2021 precedent looms large

This caution is directly linked to the previous Ceuta crisis. In August 2021, following another large influx, Spanish authorities returned several hundred minors to Morocco.

 

Spanish courts subsequently ruled that the procedure was unlawful. In January 2024, the Supreme Court confirmed that the 2021 returns were illegal because the safeguards required under Spanish law had not been observed. The court pointed, in particular, to the absence of an adequate individual assessment of each minor’s circumstances.

 

That precedent now represents a major obstacle to any collective operation. Even if Rabat is requesting the return of its nationals, and Madrid wants to ease the long-term pressure on Ceuta, the Spanish authorities must demonstrate that every return complies with the applicable legal safeguards.

 

Another option: relocating minors within Spain

While possible returns are being examined, Madrid must also address the immediate overcrowding of Ceuta’s reception system.

 

The Spanish government has activated mechanisms to transfer some unaccompanied minors to other autonomous communities. This does not prevent the authorities from simultaneously considering their possible return to Morocco, as the two are separate procedures.

 

The issue is already fuelling sharp political tensions in Spain. The central government is defending the distribution of minors among the regions as a way to ease pressure on Ceuta, while the People’s Party wants returns to Morocco to be treated as the priority. Melilla President Juan José Imbroda has also urged the authorities to apply the 2007 agreement with Rabat.

 

The situation therefore appears to be less a refusal by the Spanish government to return the minors than a process constrained by legal requirements. Rabat says it is ready to receive them, but Madrid must assess and organize each return individually.

 

The key question in the coming weeks will be whether cooperation between the two countries allows families to be identified quickly and the conditions required for return to be met. The 2021 precedent nevertheless makes one point clear: another hastily organized collective operation would expose the Spanish authorities to fresh legal challenges.