- Border Resistance publishes its second report on the situation of LGBTIQ+ individuals seeking asylum stranded in Ceuta, based on seven direct testimonies collected between August 21 and September 6, 2026.
- The testimonies document physical violence by repressive forces, exclusion from reception centers due to gender identity, economic exploitation by some local residents, and severe psychological deterioration.
- The organization demands the immediate cessation of any expulsions to Morocco, the creation of a specific reception center for the LGBTIQ+ community, and an independent international investigation.
Border Resistance has published its second report on the situation of the LGBTIQ+ community threatened with expulsion in Ceuta, documenting the violence and exclusion exercised against these individuals. The document is based on seven direct testimonies, with video and audio recordings, collected between August 21 and September 6, 2026, from individuals who identify themselves as part of the LGBTIQ+ community and who remain stranded in the city after crossing into Spanish territory.
What is the purpose of this report?
According to Border Resistance, the purpose of the publication is to document the violations with a precision that allows their presentation to human rights institutions and the press, and to inform the public about a reality that, the organization points out, is still very far from any serious institutional coverage. The report conveys the voices of its authors as they were expressed, “in respect of their right for their experience to be told in their own words.”
What violence do the testimonies document?
Four of the seven testimonies describe the same pattern of physical violence exercised by repressive forces, directly linked to an order or threat of immediate expulsion. In a testimony dated September 4, 2026, one of the victims recounts, amidst tears: “The military came here where we are and beat us,” and describes how one of the agents demanded that she hand over her phone and her hat.
A second testimony from the same date describes how a group of people was expelled from a reception center and left on the street, after which agents arrived and assaulted them, throwing their belongings to the ground deliberately. The victim links the attack directly to her identity: “We are trans, we cannot live on the street because we are attacked”, and asks for protection: “I ask you to be with me, don’t leave me like this.”
In a third testimony, the victim recounts how, while taking her medication, agents stopped her and beat her repeatedly, without apparent explanation. The most detailed testimony, dated September 6, 2026, describes a sequence of aggression by several agents — blows to the face, chest, and hand — and how the victim had to hide her phone for fear it would be confiscated when trying to document what happened. An agent from the Spanish authorities, to whom she pleaded not to be returned to Morocco, “kept ignoring me/mocking me,” according to the testimony. The victim concludes her account by stating that she cannot return to Morocco, “no one has compassion for me in that Morocco.”
Border Resistance notes that these four testimonies, despite being independent of each other in source and date, coincide in three elements: the absence of any documented provocation prior to the violence, the direct link of the assaults to an expulsion order, and a systematic attempt to prevent documentation by confiscating phones.
What exclusion do they suffer in reception centers and camps?
One of the most extensive testimonies documents how a trans person was rejected when requesting to enter a reception center — “that they were not going to let me in looking like this” — and was asked to put on a wig as a condition for access: “they told me that girls are not allowed in.” The testimony also describes constant insults from camp management staff towards present lesbian women, strict restrictions on using the bathroom, surveillance during showers, deprivation of basic hygiene items, and provocative and sarcastic questions from staff about the orientation of the individuals being sheltered there. [trans] The victim recounts that she was forced to sleep with the wig on permanently to avoid further mockery, and documents a mechanism of forced silence: even when a human rights association visits the camp, she cannot tell what is happening for fear of reprisals once the representatives leave.
What economic exploitation does the report denounce?
In two testimonies dated August 21, 2026, a victim describes how she and her companion were lured by a local woman under the pretext of inviting them to eat, only to end up doing cleaning work for hours in exchange for an amount that did not exceed 10 euros per person. A second testimony documents a similar incident, with a whole day of work washing kitchen utensils in exchange for the same amount. A third episode describes how a victim, lured to help a neighbor, ended up cleaning an entire house with bleach for hours, being rewarded with used makeup products instead of monetary payment. The testimony concludes: “We fled from Morocco precisely because of this type of exploitation.”
What psychological and health impact does the report document?
The testimonies describe a severe psychological state, with acute and chronic insomnia, and physical episodes such as a crossing in which one victim was nearly drowned and spent days practically without eating. In Ceuta, one of the victims was subjected to a direct death threat from individuals demanding that she not return to her country. Another victim, identified in the report as Farha, describes her life in Morocco as a trans woman as “an unbearable life, a very destroyed life,” with recurring daily violence and social rejection. She also states: “My family is looking for me to kill me, they threaten to burn me and kill me.”
What legal framework protects these individuals?
Border Resistance situates the documented facts in light of specific legal obligations that fall on the Spanish state: the principle of non-refoulement, enshrined in Article 33 of the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees, and the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, of which Spain is a part. Furthermore, the Spanish Law 12/2009, regulating the right to asylum and subsidiary protection, enshrines the possibility of recognizing international protection when persecution is linked to sexual orientation or gender identity, which is confirmed by UNHCR Guidelines No. 9.
What response has the central government given?
According to the report, despite the availability of these documented and coinciding testimonies over more than a month, the Spanish authorities have not taken any concrete and documented measures to open an investigation into the facts, and the Spanish central government has not created any specific mechanism to protect this community or to investigate the violations committed. The report also points out that, until its publication, there is no specific reception center that takes into account the situation of LGBTIQ+ individuals, which places victims in the forced choice between disguising themselves to enter hostile spaces or sleeping on the street. Dependency remains almost total on small non-governmental organizations and individual efforts from independent activists and volunteers, without official institutional support.
What does Border Resistance demand?
The organization demands:
An independent international investigation into the violence, exclusion, and threats faced by the community.
- The identification of the individuals involved and the demand for legal accountability.
- The immediate and total cessation of any expulsion or forced return procedures for LGBTIQ+ individuals to Morocco.
- The immediate creation of an independent and specific reception center for the LGBTIQ+ community, ensuring safety without requiring concealment of identity.
- A secure and confidential complaints mechanism that protects complainants from reprisals.
- The demand for accountability from any management or surveillance staff involved in discrimination or harassment.
- An emergency medical and psychological follow-up for the LGBTIQ+ community.
- That full responsibility be attributed to the Spanish central government, along with the local authorities of Ceuta.
- Effective protection for activists and volunteers who document and disseminate these testimonies.
- The publication of a periodic and transparent official report on the number of LGBTIQ individuals in street situations in Ceuta, the deportations that have affected them, and the results of the investigations opened.
- Who has published this report?
Border Resistance, in its second report on the situation of the LGBTIQ+ community threatened with expulsion in Ceuta.
What is the report based on?
On seven direct testimonies, with video and audio recordings, collected between August 21 and September 6, 2026.
What type of violence does it document?
Physical violence by repressive forces linked to threats of expulsion, exclusion from reception centers due to gender identity, economic exploitation, and severe psychological deterioration.
What legal principle protects these individuals from being returned to Morocco?
The principle of non-refoulement, enshrined in the 1951 Geneva Convention and in Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
What does Border Resistance ask of the Spanish government?
Among other measures, the immediate cessation of expulsions to Morocco, an independent international investigation, and the urgent creation of a specific reception center for the LGBTIQ+ community.
¿Qué pide Border Resistance al Gobierno español?
Entre otras medidas, el cese inmediato de expulsiones hacia Marruecos, una investigación internacional independiente y la creación urgente de un centro de acogida específico para el colectivo LGBTIQ+.
