Past human rights breaches to be handled humanely, vows head of HR body
Morocco, Politics, 11/20/2003

Chairman of the Moroccan human rights advisory council, Omar Azziman, said cases of past human rights breaches will be handled humanely on the basis of justice and equity in order to repair moral, psychological and social harm done to victims.

Azziman, who was guest to a program broadcast Tuesday by Morocco's TV channel "TVM," vowed that the newly-created Commission of Justice and Reconciliation will spare no effort to repair harms done to victims and to shelve once and for all the file in a fair and equitable way.

After he explained that reconciliation has a large and comprehensive dimension as it reconciles citizens with their history, their past as well as with the state, Azziman pointed out that the reconciliation process has already started in Morocco since the royal pardon decreed in 1994 for political prisoners, the return of all those who were in exile, and the settlement of the administrative situation of former political prisoners. The process was carried on when the issue of forced disappearance and arbitrary detentions was opened in 1998, leading to the creation of the reconciliation and equity commission that was created early this month to shelve the issue once and for all, he stressed.

Debate and dialogue is still going on to build on gains and bring about amendments and improvement, said Azziman who also recalled that the recommendation to create the commission was approved unanimously by the CCDH members, including representatives of political parties, trade unions and human rights organizations.

He also explained that the body does not represent the state nor the victims, and that it is not an elected body but a body that has a technical, humanist, cultural and historical dimension.

Previous Stories:
  Morocco denies Amnesty International allegations on torture in Morocco   (11/19/2003)
  Morocco's report on fight against torture welcomed in Geneva, say experts   (11/15/2003)
  Justice and Reconciliation Commission will help definitively close human rights violation cases   (11/14/2003)

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