Human rights council reaffirms commitment to autonomy and independence
Morocco, Politics, 4/17/2003

Morocco's Human Rights Consultative Council (CCDH) reiterated in Geneva on Wednesday its adherence to Paris Principles that tend to consolidate the autonomy and independence of national human rights institutions, citing recent large scale restructuring as an instance to this commitment.

In a speech before the 59th session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, Abdelaziz Benzakour, chairman of external relations' work group at the Council, recalled the dramatic evolution witnessed by the CCDH, which will allow this institution to achieve progress in promoting human rights.

The reform, enforced on December 10th, is part of a comprehensive approach to human rights and reflects the will to act with national and international organisms.

Benzakour further said that CCDH's reform is geared to adapt this institution to Paris Principles, which in turn aims to consolidate both the independence and autonomy of national human rights institutions, adding that CCDH's prerogatives have been "considerably reinforced." Part of modernizing effort, a Human Rights Prize will be awarded annually on CCDH's proposal to distinguish a personality or organization, either national or foreign, having produced an outstanding contribution to human rights, he said. The Moroccan official also recalled the approach adopted in addressing the delicate issue of compensating victims of disappearance and arbitrary detention, adding that the independent arbitration body, set up in August 1999, received by the end 1999 up to 5,000 applications. This body, he said, rendered up to 4,500 sentences by the end of March 2003. By virtue of 3,100 such sentences, compensations, worth US$ 85 million, were extended to 4400 claimants. The victims' compensation procedure is an original approach in Morocco which, unlike other countries, has adopted this way of dealing with past breaches without a change in the political regime.

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