Press release following meeting of CNDH Bureau on Wednesday April 1st, 2020
The Bureau of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) held its ordinary periodic meeting, via video-conference, on Wednesday April 1st, 2020.
The Bureau exchanged on the measures taken by the Council to continue its human rights monitoring, protection and promotion tasks during the current health emergency, in line with national legislation and relevant international standards.
The members of the Bureau also exchanged on several points, namely:
- The particularities of the difficult situation Morocco and the world face, following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which cannot be prevented, so far, except by raising citizens’ awareness to adopt and abide by barrier gestures and strict social distancing measures;
- The CNDH’s actions and its correspondence to and communications with public authorities, in fulfillment of its prerogatives and its proactive action mission;
- The measures the Council has taken to adopt and reorganize its work and action, including the action of its three national mechanisms and its permanent commissions.
The Bureau welcomes the measures taken by the State to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to support vulnerable groups and calls for expanding the measures to all vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, children, women, migrants, refugees and the elderly.
It announces that establishment of a specialized working group to monitor the situation of human rights situation national and regional levels and reaffirms that the CNDH will intensify contacts at the regional and international level with the networks of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) and the UN and regional bodies to share best practices to counter the spread of the pandemic.
In the past few days, the CNDH has taken several initiatives to promote the preventive measures in Morocco’s two official languages (Arabic and Amazigh), sign language, French, Spanish, and English. The CNDH also used Wolof and Lingala to communicate with migrants and refugees residing in Morocco about health emergency response and measures.