Moroccan society is going through a decisive turning point in its process of Emerging Democracy, forcing us all to act. It is essential to seize the opportunity so as to initiate a new phase of reforms that meets the expectations expressed by citizens, the constitutional obligations and the conventional commitments of Morocco, said Amina Bouayach, President of the National Human Rights Council. (CNDH).
The Council presented, this Wednesday, May 10 in Rabat, its annual report on the situation of human rights in Morocco. Entitled “Redefining priorities to consolidate the effectiveness of rights”, this report, adopted by the General Assembly of the Council in October 2022, presents in particular an assessment of the CNDH’s actions in terms of protection, promotion and prevention of violations of human rights, with figures relating to 21 thematic rights and 5 categorical rights, in addition to the rights of women and girls.
According to Amina Bouayach, the document details some of the rights failures. She points out that one of the most important conclusions it makes relates to the need for regular monitoring and evaluation of public policies. ” Although the trend is starting to reverse, the absence of clear and quantified objectives for public policies, whether in terms of deadlines or in terms of outcome, makes their monitoring and evaluation (M&E) difficult.“, she explains.
She also stresses that the work carried out by the CNDH, both through the publication of its annual and thematic report, although relevant and necessary, can only shed light on certain limited aspects, depending on its prerogatives, but it can in no way replace a systematic M&E of public policies, a veritable software for translating written rights into effective, tangible rights that can be exercised by citizens.
What is new, according to the President, is the citizen’s recourse to a non-judicial mechanism, namely the CNDH, in order to guarantee his right of access to justice, hence the need to strengthen the dynamics of ongoing reform for efficient and impartial justice.
” It is no exaggeration to say that the changes that our society is experiencing, as well as the continuous efforts of everyone, are giving birth to a precious societal dynamic. We are in a context of public and soon parliamentary debates, around the amendment of four legislative texts, namely the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Code of Civil Procedure and the Family Code, which constitute the basis management of the various relationships within the company“, she argues.
Similarly, Bouayach believes that these Codes are of paramount importance for the consolidation of the rule of law by overhauling criminal policy as a policy for the protection of freedoms and rights and equality between women and men.
In addition, this report is structured around nine axes, in particular the situation of thematic and categorical rights, the report on the activities of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture, the report on the activities of the National Appeals Mechanism for Child Victims violation of their rights, the report on the activities of the National Mechanism for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities, the harmonization of legislation, capacity building and media and human rights, national cooperation and international cooperation relations , the follow-up of the implementation of the recommendations of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission and finally the meetings of the bodies of the Council, the CRDH, new administrative and computer systems.
On the other hand, the CNDH reports that the Council and its Regional Commissions as well as the three national mechanisms received a total of 3,245 complaints and requests, of which 1,895 were handled by the CRDH, 70 by the National Appeals Mechanism for child victims of violation of their rights, and 47 by the National Mechanism for the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The number of complaints and requests received in 2022 corresponds to an increase of 7.52% compared to 2021.
Regarding press freedom in Morocco and the low rating issued by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Bouayach called on the NGO to update its data.
“We do not comment as we consider our reports to be the benchmark“, she said, noting that” the Council has a relationship of communication and dialogue with RSF. We will present our data, information and analysis of the situation to this organization.”referring to the need to update this data.
” This report that we are presenting today is a response to the French organization“, assures the president of the CNDH.
Recall that the 21st edition of the RSF report ranked Morocco 144th out of 180, i.e. a loss of 9 places in one year for the Kingdom to be one, according to the French organization, of the 42 countries in which the situation of journalists is difficult. A ranking that has angered many actors in the country.