An African Agenda: Morocco’s Migration Discourse in the African Union and Its Janus-Faced Migration Diplomacy

Abstract Since its 2013 National Immigration and Asylum Strategy, Morocco has deployed an intra-African migration discourse of solidarity and human rights. King Mohammed vi was appointed African Union (AU) “champion” on the migration issue and presented the bloc with an African Agenda for Migration. This paper assesses the protection potential of this agenda for forced migrants. To uncover underlying power and strategic interests, the African Agenda on Migration and Morocco’s accompanying discourse are contextualised in relation to Morocco’s general African policy and its overall migration policy. Also a double discrepancy is examined, between Morocco’s diplomatic stance towards the AU and towards the EU and between its discourse and governance practices. The paper shows how Morocco skilfully employs migration diplomacy to further its geostrategic objectives at the African continental level, as it does in other international relations. This underpins the conclusion that the Agenda has little potential to improve the protection of forced migrants.