Morocco's Universal Periodic Review: 26 Recommendations to the government for the effectiveness of human rights
As an independent national institution for the protection and promotion of human rights, accredited with “A” status, the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) submitted its parallel report on the occasion of the Fourth Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
The UPR is an important mechanism for the United Nations Human Rights Council, said Mrs. Amina Bouayach, CNDH Chairperson. It is an opportunity given to all states to present the outcome of measures they have taken to respect human rights and raise challenges they have faced to their effective enjoyment, she added. Human rights defenders also expressed their concerns and submitted their recommendations. It is a global space to assess the extent to which states parties engage in the human rights system and adhere to its standards.
The CNDH report is a preliminary assessment of the implementation of the UPR’s previous recommendations. It includes 26 recommendations to the Moroccan government.
They are divided into four main axes based on: 1- Strengthening the practice of conventions by ratifying the remaining international human rights instruments and reinforcing cooperation with the UN system; 2- Strengthening legal guarantees for the effectiveness of rights; 3- Developing the institutional framework that supports the national system for the protection and promotion of human rights; 4- Strengthening public policies to ensure respect for human rights and the promotion of their culture.
The CNDH submitted its report. It also accompanied a group of young human rights defenders, in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund, the Universal Periodic Review Information (UPR Info) and the Prometheus Institute for Democracy and Human Rights. Two workshops were organized for their benefit and their networking was supported. This process culminated in the establishment of the "Associative Union of Moroccan Youth for the Protection of Human Rights", which presented, last week, its report as part of this session.
The CNDH also contributes, as a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), to the elaboration of the national report, which will be submitted by the government to the United Nations Human Rights Council. It also contributes to consultations with various actors, at the national and regional levels.
All UN member states undergo a UPR approximately every four and a half years, during which human rights issues are considered and recommendations are issued. Morocco's report will be examined during the 41st Session of this mechanism to be held from 7 to 18 November 2022. Last Morocco’s UPR took place in May 2017, while the report of the working group on the UPR for Morocco was adopted in September 2017.
Souss-Massa Region: National Symposium on the Rule of Law in Light of COVID-19 Pandemic
The Regional Human Rights Commission of the Souss-Massa Region (CRDH) and the Bar Association to Courts of Appeal in Agadir, Guelmim and Laayoune, Morocco, organize a National Symposium on "The State of the Rule of Law in Light of the Covid-19 Pandemic", on Friday 1 April 2022, at 9.30 am, in Agadir, Morocco.
This National Symposium is part of the implementation of the partnership agreement signed between the CRDH and the Bar Association. It is also organized in commemoration of the days of "customs and traditions of the legal profession" and on the occasion of the second anniversary of the Declaration of a state of health emergency in Morocco.
This event is an opportunity to discuss the effects of the health emergency and its repercussions on the enjoyment of rights and freedoms, by presenting the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the two sessions of this event, stakeholders address issues that mainly focus on the right to a fair trial, the remote trial model during the Covid-19 period, freedom of the press and the pandemic, the rights of migrants during the pandemic, the COVID-19 crisis and cultural policies in Morocco, civil and political rights and democratic practice, etc.
Errachidia: CNDH Chairperson delivers a lecture on “Memory and History: Ways to Human Development”
On Thursday 31 March 2022, Mrs. Amina Bouayach, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), will deliver a lecture on “Memory and History: Ways to Human Development” at the opening of the spring session at the Interdisciplinary College in Errachidia, Morocco.
On the side-line of this event, Mrs. Bouayach will oversee the signing of a framework agreement for cooperation and partnership between the Regional Human Rights Commission of Draa-Tafilalet (CRDH) and Moulay Ismail University. This agreement aims to establish mechanisms for joint work between the CRDH and the University and to encourage all initiatives aiming at promoting and consolidating human rights values and culture within the university.
CNDH Chairperson will also visit the Abdelmoumen High School in Tounfit, Midelt region, Morocco to interact with secondary school students on Wednesday 30 March 2022 on the side-line of the meeting on the Marriage of minors, the effectiveness of the right to health, education and training. This meeting is organized by the CRDH in coordination with its partners. It aims to raise awareness on the negative effects of underage marriage and its relationship to the right to health and the right to education, as well as to introduce the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the national child redress mechanism.
Round table on "Foreigners' Right to Access Employment in the Tangiers-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Region"
In partnership with the Belgian Development Agency (ENABEL), the Regional Human Rights Commission of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Region (CRDH) organizes a round table on “The Right of Foreigners to Access Employment in the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Region”, on Wednesday 30 March 2022, in Tangier, Morocco.
This round table falls within the CRDH mandate on promoting and protecting human rights. It is also the implementation of its annual program of action related to protecting the rights of foreigners, particularly migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
This meeting aims to enrich the discussion and collective thinking on the economic integration of migrants in the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region; given that employment is a fundamental right that guarantees human dignity, as stipulated in the international conventions ratified by Morocco and the Global Compact on Migration (GCM), which was adopted by Morocco on 11 December 2018 in Marrakech.
This symposium also intends to identify the reality of migrant employment in the region, determine the obstacles limiting their access to work, share the best practices related to facilitating their economic integration, and propose possible and realistic solutions to ensure their right to safe work.
Representatives of government institutions, territorial groups, private sector, NGOs, relevant United Nations agencies, professors, researchers and media professionals will take part in this event.
The National Human Rights Council (CNDH) published its report in 2013 entitled: "Foreigners and Human Rights in Morocco: For a New Policy in the Field of Human Rights and Migration."
Morocco CNDH shares its experience and expertise with the NHRI of the Republic of Niger
The National Human Rights Council in Morocco (CNDH) will meet with the delegation from the National Human Rights Commission/National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture of the Republic of Niger from 28 March 2022 to 2 April 2022 in Rabat, Morocco.
The Moroccan CNDH will share its experience and expertise as a National Institution for the protection and promotion of human rights. It will focus on the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture hosted by the CNDH.
Mrs. Amina Bouayach, CNDH Chairperson, and Mr. Maty Elhadji Mousa, Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission in Niger, will launch the opening session of this event on Tuesday 29 March 2022.
This event is part of the CNDH’s actions related to sharing its expertise and experience with National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) that are members of the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI). It comes also within the context of continuing to strengthen the existing cooperation between the CNDH and the Commission.
The program of this visit includes meetings with the CNDH members and staff to exchange on its missions related mainly to the promotion and protection of human rights, handling complaints, monitoring and investigation mechanisms, following-up public policies related to human rights, cooperation and international relations, etc.
This visit is the first conducted by the new Commission members.
At this event, stakeholders will focus on the CNDH experience as a national institution that hosts the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture. The CNDH will share the missions of the mechanism, methodology and techniques of visiting places of deprivation of liberty and organization of interviews, interaction of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture with international mechanisms, elaboration of reports, Universal Periodic Review, etc.
The delegation will also visit the Regional Human Rights Commission in the Fez-Meknes region to expand their knowledge of the CNDH actions at the regional level.
The CNDH took the initiative to call for the establishment of a Network of African National Preventive Mechanisms Against Torture, within the framework of the regional symposium on “African National Mechanisms for the Prevention of Torture: Opportunities and Challenges during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond”, which is organized as part of the 46th session of the Human Rights Council in partnership with the Association for the Prevention of Torture.
In this context, the CNDH Chairperson called for strengthening the capacities of the established mechanisms and facilitating ways to share expertise and experiences among them. She also called for encouraging other African countries to set up and appoint their national mechanisms to succeed in the establishment of a network of African national mechanisms for the prevention of torture.
Casablanca-Settat Region: Forum on “Sexual Extortion, Limits of Human Trafficking”
In partnership with Hassan II University in Casablanca, Morocco, the Regional Human Rights Commission of Casablanca-Settat Region (CRDH) organises a Regional Forum on "Sexual Extortion: Limits of Human Trafficking", at 9:30 a.m. on Monday 28 March 2022, at the Faculty of Medicine in Casablanca, Morocco.
Mrs. Amina Bouayach, President of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), and Mr. Mohammed Talbi, President of Hassan II University in Casablanca, will launch this Forum.
This event is part of the implementation of the partnership agreement between the CRDH and Hassan II University. It interprets the engagement of the CRDH in the CNDH national campaign to combat violence against women and girls, launched on 25 November 2021.
This meeting is an opportunity to engage with universities in debating gender-based violence and raise awareness about its propagation and risks. The meeting also addresses this phenomenon which often overlaps with the human being trafficking crime, which is a gross violation of women's human rights.
Besides, stakeholders will assess the current situation related to sexual exploitation by evaluating the existing legal framework on combatting violence against women, particularly the law on the elimination of violence against women, the law on combating human trafficking, criminal law and the code of criminal procedure. This meeting will also be an occasion to highlight the need to put impunity and ensure non-repetition.
At this event, participants will focus on four main issues as follows: the effectiveness of law related to human trafficking in cases of sexual extortion, the opinion of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) on Law 14-27, measures to encourage witnesses to report crimes of human trafficking, and the role of civil society in enhancing preventive and protective measures for human being trafficking victims.
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CNDH REITERATES ITS FIRM POSITION AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY AS A SERIOUS VIOLATION OF THE RIGHT TO LIFE
Mrs. Amina Bouayach, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), reiterated the Council’s firm position against the death penalty as a grave violation of the right to life, which is an inherent, supreme and absolute right. Without it, there is no right, no freedom or justice.
In her statement at the opening session of the General Assembly of the Moroccan Coalition Against the Death Penalty, held on Friday 18 March 2022, in Rabat, Morocco, Mrs. Bouayach stressed that justifying the retaining of the death penalty under the pretext of the Moroccan social or cultural particularity is a miscalculation that does not reach the bold political responsibility required by this historical stage.
CNDH Chairperson also stressed the need to abolish the death penalty as part of reforming the criminal system with a rational and bold approach that is in harmony with, firstly, the Moroccan human rights process, secondly with the Moroccan constitution, thirdly with the recommendation of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER), and fourthly with the Moroccan international obligations. She also underlined that the abolition of the death penalty is the beginning of a concrete implementation of the harmonization of criminal law, the Constitution and international covenants.
Mrs. Bouayach indicated that the CNDH’s position regarding this punishment is part of its missions and principles based on the protection and promotion of human rights, given that this sentence is based on revenge against the convict instead of reform and reintegration into society. She also added that international studies in several countries proved that this punishment is not deterrent for crimes and is ineffective.
The opening session of this meeting was chaired by the Coordinator of the Moroccan Coalition for the Abolition of the Death Penalty.
Minister of Justice, Presidency of the Public Prosecution Office, the NGO “Together Against the Death Penalty”, Moroccan Observatory for Prisons, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, and representatives of networks of lawyers, journalists and educators against the death penalty participated in this event.
In its memorandum related to reforming the criminal code in October 2019, the CNDH stressed the importance of the official abolition of this penalty. It also called on the public authorities to encourage the abolition by voting for a global moratorium on the implementation of the death penalty in December 2020. The CNDH also called on the Moroccan government, on several occasions, to accede to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.
Download the CNDH Chairperson statement (Available in Arabic)
CNDH CALLS FOR INCLUDING THE ROLE OF NHRIS IN THE UN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS
As part of the interactive dialogue with Mrs. Virginia Gamba, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, Mrs. Amina Bouayach, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), called for urgent measures to protect child soldiers as victims. She also recommended the systematic follow-up and prosecution of children recruiters, whether they are state or non-state officials.
This interactive dialogue was organized as part of the 49th session of the Human Rights Council on 16 March 2022.
CNDH Chairperson also stressed that following the frequency of children recruitment in Africa, the responsibility of the international community should expand to integrate children to build peace, ensure political settlement of conflicts and allow their rehabilitation and integration into a life that is closer to normal.
Mrs. Bouayach underlined that the General Assembly of the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI) approved the CNDH proposal on creating a Working Group for the Protection of Children.
The CNDH Chairperson welcomed the UN Special Representative’s report and its recommendations. She also called for including the role of independent National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) in its future reports, given their important role in protecting children from any moral, psychological and ideological exploitation that facilitates their use as shields and backup in armed conflicts.
The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 stipulate the need to provide particular protection and support for children during armed conflicts.
Download the video related to the CNDH President's statement (Available in Arabic)
EVENTH ORDINARY SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL (24-25 FEBRUARY 2022)
Mrs. Amina Bouayach, President of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), chaired the launch of the Seventh Session of the General Assembly (GA) on the morning of Thursday 24 February 2022.
The GA will be held on 24 and 25 February 2022 at the CNDH headquarters in Rabat, Morocco.
Stakeholders unanimously approved three documents. The first is the Draft Opinion on the bill related to reform and supplement the law on the press and publication. This document includes recommendations and proposals to expand freedom of the press and expression in Morocco. It will be published after including proposals of the CNDH Standing Committees. The second is the Draft Report on the effectiveness of the right to health… for a national health system based on a human rights approach. The Third is the 2021 Annual Report on the human rights situation in Morocco, which will be published after including members’ proposals.
Mrs. Bouayach presented the most prominent CNDH activities which were organized/ held between the sixth and seventh sessions of the GA. At this period, the CNDH followed up on issues preoccupying public opinion, elaborated recommendations to the government and interacted on these issues at the protective level. The CNDH also handled complaints, supported victims, conducted visits to places of deprivation of liberty, organized hearings and followed up on the recommendations of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER), etc.
The CNDH Chairperson shed light on the Council's protective interventions. Within this context, Mrs. Bouayach indicated that the CNDH elaborated recommendations to replace the vaccination pass with the health pass. She also added that the CNDH organized internal and regional meetings with victims, officials, non-governmental actors and representatives of the National Union of Higher Education on the issue of sexual extortion and gender-based violence in universities. Also, the CNDH expanded the framework for observation of trials...
Besides, Mrs. Bouayach highlighted the efforts of the Follow-up Commission to implement the IER recommendations. She indicated that this Commission continued working with the same methodology and pace since 2019 to overcome the delay in implementation and accelerate.
Within the same context, the CNDH Chairperson noted the significant development in completing the Tazmamart space program and the efforts made for the Al Hoceima Museum and the Kasbah of Agdz. Mrs. Bouayach also underlined the CNDH letter submitted to the French Diplomatic Archive to retrieve the archives of Mohammed Ben Abdelkarim Khattabi, and the program of individual reparations and social support for victims of past violations, etc.
Download the CNDH Chairperson statement (Available in arabic)
Protection Thursday Program: Online Seminar on Victims of Human Trafficking... Limits of Support
As part of its monthly Protection Thursday program, The National Human Rights Council (CNDH) organizes an online symposium on “Victims of Human Trafficking... Limits of Support” on Thursday 24 February 2022, starting at 7 pm on the CNDH’s Facebook page.
This event aims to contribute to promoting Law No. 27-14 related to combating human trafficking. This law stipulates that human trafficking is a distinct crime. It provides guarantees for victims and increases punishment for perpetrators.
This symposium is in line with the publication of the first annual national report of the National Commission for the Coordination of Measures to Combat and Prevent Human Trafficking which was presented on Tuesday 15 February 2002, in Rabat, Morocco.
In this symposium, participants will read Law No. 27-14, present the experience of a Moroccan NGO in contributing to support victims of human trafficking, and review the leading models at the international level.
Article 4 of Law No. 27-14 provides for significant protective measures similar to the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. These measures are reflected in providing the necessary possible protection for victims, healthcare, psychosocial support, legal assistance, etc.