Spain - October 2025

On 17 October, Mauritania inaugurated two migrant reception centres built and financed by Spain through the Foundation for the Internationalisation of Public Administration (FIAP), a public organization under the Spanish Cooperation Agency, with additional funding from the European Union Emergency Trust Fund. The centres, which can accommodate around 200 people, will mainly host migrants from boats intercepted in Mauritanian waters while trying to reach Spain’s Canary Islands. The project is part of Spain’s outsourcing of migration management to Mauritania. According to Spanish authorities, the centres are modeled on facilities already operating in the Canary Islands and will house migrants for up to 72 hours. If individuals apply for asylum, Mauritanian authorities will be responsible for making the relevant decision. Opposition and rights groups have condemned the developments, citing Mauritania’s past record of migrant abuses and warning that the reception centers could in practice function as detention centers, and could erode oversight and accountability by Spain.  

Sources: El Salto Diario, El Diario, Europa Press, Global Detention Project, Human Rights Watch, Foundation for the Internationalisation of Public Administration, OK Diario