Moroccan expert criticizes shortcomings of Arab human rights charter
Regional-Morocco, Politics, 2/21/2004

Moroccan jurist, Khalid Naciri, who chairs the Arab standing human rights Committee, said the new Arab charter of human rights is a headway compared to the 1994 charter but is short of the universal declaration of human rights.

Naciri told MAP office in Cairo following the committee's meeting this week the new project, that will be submitted to the upcoming session of the Arab League council, still contains some shortcomings, mostly as regards its reference to some freedom-restricting legislation in force in some Arab states.

He cited in this regard the charter's failure to make a clear mention of elections transparency and honesty and its superficial reference to education to human rights, through the rejection of hatred and discrimination advocacy. He went on that the committee he chairs had the ambition to draw a charter that is more attuned to international legality and to the world's openness and democratic progress. He deemed it would have been appropriate to grant more importance to the culture of tolerance and political openness.

He went on that the Moroccan experience is a pilot one in the Arab states as it produced evidence that democracy and the respect of human rights are not contradictory with Islam. Likewise, he went on, the laws largely exceed the minimum required in the Arab human rights charter.

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