Ceuta must be a wake-up call on harmful migration policies, ActionAid warns

ActionAid is deeply concerned by the needless loss of life following the recent events at the Spain–Morocco border in Ceuta. Civil society organisations have reported roughly 100 deaths and thousands injured, with the toll likely to climb further. Every life lost in Ceuta demands accountability.  

Dozens of people have died attempting to reach European territory, and thousands more have been injured. Women, young people, and minors who were not accompanied by their families are reported to be having difficulty re-establishing contact with them.  

Javier Garcia, ActionAid’s Head of Europe and Americas, said;  

“The deaths in Ceuta are not an isolated tragedy; they are the predictable consequence of European policies that prioritise deterrence and border externalisation over human rights. Emergency responses and security rhetoric cannot replace accountability.” 

“Behind the numbers are people whose lives have equal dignity and equal value. Their deaths demand more than emergency responses or political rhetoric.”  

Garcia bemoaned the current migration model, which has insufficient safeguards for human rights, he said; 

“This approach moves the EU further away from the protection of fundamental rights and towards deportation at all costs, while continuing to restrict safe and regular pathways.”  

ActionAid is calling for an honest reflection on the migration policies that continue to allow such foreseeable and avoidable tragedies. When security becomes the dominant lens through which migration is understood, the people at the centre of the crisis risk disappearing. 

Safe and legal pathways are not merely an alternative; they are the only legitimate way forward. As long as there are no orderly channels for people to migrate and seek protection, people will continue to face greater risks of exploitation, violence and death along dangerous migration routes. 

Arthur Larok, the Secretary General of ActionAid International, said, 

“Europe cannot measure the success of its migration policies only by the number of people prevented from crossing its borders. Success must also be measured by how effective protection of life, upholding human rights and addressing the structural inequalities that force people to undertake dangerous journeys.” 

Fleeing poverty, violence or war is not a crime, and this crisis also reminds us that migration is never only about borders. People move because of conflict, persecution, inequality, climate impacts, poverty and the denial of fundamental rights. These structural drivers remain largely absent from current political debate. 

While ActionAid recognises the right of States to manage their borders, the narratives of “invasion”, “attacks”, or “illegal migration” dehumanise people on the move by portraying them primarily as security threats rather than human beings.  Border management must always be exercised in accordance with national regulation, international human rights law, refugee law and the obligation to protect life. 

ActionAid calls on the authorities in Spain, Morocco, and the EU to overhaul border policies to ensure that human life and transparency take precedence over deterrence. Border or return operations must outlaw collective deportations and uphold access to individual asylum procedures, with strict safeguards against gender-based violence. Furthermore, these must pay particular attention to the needs of women, girls, boys and other people in vulnerable situations.