28-05-2025
Moroccan single mother granted right to asylum in the Netherlands in landmark ruling
Issued by the Council of State in The Hague on May 20, 2025, and published on the 26th of the same month, a landmark ruling now allows Moroccan single mothers to apply for asylum in the Netherlands—provided they can demonstrate a genuine risk of criminal prosecution. The decision was handed down in favor of a woman who had appealed after facing deportation alongside her three children, following an administrative rejection in 2023.
The initial decision had sided with the Ministry of Asylum and Migration, which argued that Morocco is considered a safe country of origin. However, the Council clarified that this presumption does not apply in cases where individuals can «specifically demonstrate that legal safeguards in Morocco against violations of rights and freedoms are not guaranteed in their individual case».
In its appeal, the ministry argued that «there must be concrete and individualized indications that criminal proceedings will actually be initiated». The Council of State, however, found the applicant's claims admissible, stating that she had shown «a clear risk of facing criminal prosecution upon return to Morocco, and that legal protections for her rights and freedoms are not assured in her specific case».
Risk of Prosecution and Far-Reaching Consequences
The woman's appeal was based on Morocco's Penal Code Articles 490 and 491, which criminalize extramarital relationships and adultery, as well as Family Code provisions regarding the annulment of guardianship and child custody. Her case also referenced the 2022 report by Protection Not Prison: How the criminalization of sexual relations outside of marriage promotes violence against women. According to the report, over 10,000 prosecutions for similar cases were recorded annually in Morocco during the study period.
The report contrasts this with the country's response to gender-based violence, highlighting that in 2020, only 46 people were prosecuted for femicide, 756 for rape, 2,034 for violence against women resulting in incapacitation of more than 20 days, and 505 for sexual harassment in public spaces. In the workplace, 20 cases of sexual harassment were prosecuted, while only 2 cases were pursued for breaching restraining orders. In total, there were 3,363 prosecutions for gender-based violence, compared to 13,018 prosecutions for extramarital sexual relations that same year.
The applicant also referenced an article titled Response to Morocco : Convictions for Extramarital Sexual Relations by the Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation, as well as the Brief Thematic Official Report on the Principle of ne bis in idem, Foreign Criminal Convictions, and Privacy Legislation in Morocco (2023).
A Debate on Legal Reforms and the Duty of Protection
A letter from MRA, dated December 14, 2023, was also included in the case file. In her application, the mother explained that she «must contact the Moroccan authorities to obtain official identity documents for her youngest child». The Council of State noted in its ruling that this process requires presenting the Dutch birth certificate, which does not list a father, allowing Moroccan authorities to infer that the child was born out of wedlock.
An email from MRA confirmed that «when a single mother requests official identity documents for a child born outside marriage, the authorities are alerted to a criminal violation of laws against extramarital sexual relations and proceed with prosecution». While some Moroccan cities allow single mothers to give their child their own surname or choose from a list of approved names, these practices largely depend on individual efforts within local administrations and NGOs, as there is no legal framework to protect such cases.
Morocco's reluctance to use DNA testing for establishing paternity in children born out of wedlock also remains a major issue. Without legal recognition of paternal lineage, these children face second-class citizenship. For mothers, the consequences can be severe: in addition to the loss of legal guardianship, they risk imprisonment, economic hardship, and difficulties reentering the workforce after serving a sentence. All these factors contribute to greater insecurity for the children's well-being and future.
When contacted by Yabiladi on Wednesday, the MRA association welcomed the ruling as a step forward for the protection of children's rights. «Given the risk of criminal prosecution and the precarious legal status of children born out of wedlock, these children could have been deprived of a normal education like their peers if they had returned to Morocco», the NGO told us.
«They would have been separated from their mother if she had been convicted. The priority was to ensure the children could stay with their mother and that their rights were protected, in line with the obligation of international protection under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)».
Beyond this individual case, MRA expressed hope to Yabiladi that this legal precedent will help advance discussions around the status of children born out of wedlock and single mothers in Morocco, particularly in light of the ongoing Family Code reform and the provisions of the Penal Code.
