Commission receives 20,000 compensation claims for past human rights abuses
Morocco, Politics, 4/17/2004

Chairman of the Equity and Reconciliation commission, Driss Benzekri, a body inaugurated last January to pursue out-of-court settlement of past human rights abuses, said the commission has received about 20,000 compensation and repair requests.

Benzekri told a press conference the commission -which replaces the independent arbitration commission- is resolved to go ahead with its mission to establish truth, in keeping with the directives issued by King Mohammed VI when he inaugurated the commission members.

The sovereign had stressed Morocco's resolve to settle once and for all, the "thorny" issue of human rights abuses "through further equitable, out-of-court settlements, as well as by healing past wounds and redressing the damage done."

The king had called the commission to adopt "a bold, comprehensive approach, seeking justice, rehabilitation and reintegrationÉ to uncover the truth and draw lessons from the past."

For Benzekri, secretary general of the Human Rights Advisory Council (CCDH) and founding member of the "Justice and Truth Forum," the commission is part of democratic transition process Morocco has embarked on.

He further explained that the commission will cover the period extending between Morocco's independence in 1956 till 1999 when the now-defunct independent arbitration commission was set up. Its mandate includes massive and/or serious human rights abuses. It will conduct investigations and fact-finding missions in order to identify the categories, seriousness and massive and/or systematic abuses of human rights.

Since it officially became operational last January 7, the commission has held nine plenary sessions and 12 sessions of its task-groups to draft its internal regulations texts, in addition to meetings with truth commissions in other countries and international experts.

Its assigned mission is to establish categories and seriousness of human rights violations by conducting investigations, hearing testimonies and statements, collecting information and data likely to help in establishing truth, carrying on investigation on unresolved cases of forced disappearance and proposing solutions to proved cases of death.

It will also establish the responsibility of state bodies or any other body in past breaches and compile a final report containing the findings of its investigations and analyses on human rights abuses and the context in which they took place. Compensating victims, either financially or by rehabilitating them, promoting their social integration or any other forms of repair is also part of the commission mandate.

The body's national reference is the royal speeches on the settlement of serious human rights violations and on the consolidation of the protection of human rights, the final report and decisions of the independent arbitration commission and memoranda and proposals submitted by human rights-advocacy associations and victims associations. At the international level, its work is based on the rules of procedure of truth and reconciliation commissions in other countries, international law provisions, including the UN recommendations and decisions, and comparative studies.

The commission comprises 16 members. Eight members are from the CCDH and eight others are figures from various backgrounds.

Previous Stories:
  Moroccan Human Rights association presents annual report for 2003   (4/8/2004)
  Equity and reconciliation committee to probe HR breaches from independence   (4/7/2004)
  Equity and reconciliation committee, unique experience in the Arab states, human rights activist   (3/27/2004)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search