CCDH OUTCOME IN 2009: COMPLETING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE IER’s RECOMMENDATIONS AND STRENGTHENING ACTION AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL

In implementation of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER)’s recommendations relative to legal reforms in general and review of the penal system in particular, the Advisory Council on Human Rights conducted in 2009 two studies on the draft Penal Code and the Code of Penal Procedure and their harmonization with the international human rights principles and provisions. It also initiated a reflection process on the phenomenon of human trafficking and conducted a draft study on the subject. It also held several consultation meetings with the public authorities concerned to exchange views and access data and information on the situation of the phenomenon in Morocco and efforts made to fight it and to urge the Moroccan government to adhere to the relevant international conventions.

CCDH contributed to the follow-up and participated in the works of the governmental committee in charge of the preparation of proposals relative to the revision and updating of laws relating to asylum in order to harmonize them with the international human rights standards. Proposing the appropriate institutional framework to manage the issues of asylum and refugees is one the tasks entrusted to the committee.

As regards the promotion of human rights culture, the Council organized a training course on international humanitarian law, a meeting on the Spanish experience in the field of human rights protection and promotion, a meeting on the European Court of Human Rights, a number of activities to promote women’s rights, and other activities aiming at the promotion of human rights culture. The Council continues the preparation of the National Plan of Action on Democracy and Human Rights and the implementation of the Citizenship Platform for the Promotion of Human Rights Culture.

In 2009, the Council organized several meetings on topics related to the protection of human rights and violations monitoring. It also held a seminar on the status of the population the camps of Tindouf in light of international humanitarian law, a regional seminar on the protection of refugees and a seminar on the protection of the rights of the child and the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Within the framework of the follow-up of implementation of the IER’s recommendations regarding individual reparations, the Council worked in 2009 on rest IER’s arbitration decisions, which reached 1339 arbitration decisions in 2009. As for the regularization of administrative financial issues and social integration, the Council, during the same year, re-examined the requests of all beneficiaries of the recommendations in this area. All necessary information was extracted, particularly those relating to the settlement of administrative and financial situations. Several meetings and consultations were held with the government sectors concerned to resolve them. In this context, the Joint Bilateral Commission between the Council and all sectors concerned, established for this purpose, announced in a meeting at the Prime Ministry in July 2009 the settlement of more than 150 cases.

As regards social integration, the Advisory Council contacted with stakeholders concerned to update the documents and data, which enabled the identification of a preliminary list that includes some of the difficult cases that are consistent with the standards agreed upon with the government.

The Council also worked in 2009 on the follow-up of the implementation of the recommendations that are related to the legislative and institutional reforms, especially those associated with the rehabilitation of justice, strengthening of judiciary independence, reform of the penal system, rationalization of security governance, updating and development of the treaty practice and the institutionalization of the archive, research in the field of recent history and the preservation of memory.

A funding agreement between the Council and the European Union was signed on 18 November 2009, to finance a project of history archive and memory. This project would help launch or support on-going activities related to the preservation of the archive of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission and the Advisory Council on Human Rights and support the modernization of the National Archives, and other projects aiming at the preservation of memory and enhancing the teaching and research in the field of recent history.
It is noteworthy that the Council has issued a special report on the follow-up of the implementation of the IER’s recommendations of the in December 2009.

The Council supervised the observation of the communal elections of June 12, 2009, in 111 urban and rural communes, 28 provinces located within the working scope of CCDH regional offices and the city of Marrakech.

In the area of cooperation and external relations, the Council participated in several meetings of United Nations human rights bodies, mainly the Human Rights Council and the Advisory Committee for Human Rights in Geneva. It also received UN delegations, like the delegation of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the delegation of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees and the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance. It also accompanied the evolution of cooperation and partnership relations between Morocco and the European Union, particularly after the kingdom gained the advanced status. The Council strengthened, as well, relations of cooperation with the international and regional networks of human rights national institutions: Arab-European Human Rights Dialogue, the Francophone Association of National. Human Rights Commissions, International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions. It also strengthened its bilateral cooperation with national human rights institutions, in addition to its participation in a number of meetings and national/international conferences.

CCDH considers civil society as a key partner in the various tasks related to the field of human rights. The Council makes sure to involve civil society associations, particularly those working in the field of human rights, in all its activities, meetings and seminars. Following the participative approach it adopts, the Council has held several consultation meetings with all civil society components. They also omnipresent in many CCDH projects and programs, to wit: the National Plan on Democracy and Human Rights, the Citizenship Platform for the Promotion of Human Rights Culture and the Community Reparation Program.

The Council also provides moral and material support to many associations operating in the field of human rights to help them realize their various activities and programs related to the intervention areas of the Council. It also provides them with its publications for distribution to the beneficiaries of the training sessions they organize. CCDH members and officers contribute in several meetings and training sessions organized by various active human rights associations.

It is worth mentioning that the Council opened later in 2009 many regional offices, as part of the implementation of the strategy of proximity to the citizens in order to facilitate their access to the Council’s services and their communication with the Council. The offices created in 2009 are located in the cities of Oujda, Agadir, Midelt and Ouarzazate. CCDH regional offices develop relations of cooperation with all regional stakeholders concerned by the protection of human rights. They conduct studies and researches and prepare periodic reports on the situation of human rights in the regions where they are located.

The Council was allocated in the fiscal year 2009 a total budget of 53 million Moroccan Dirhams, i.e. an increase of 11% compared with the previous year (For more details about the Council's budget, see the full text of the Council's annual report of 2009).