Morocco presents human rights report to UN
Morocco, Politics, 10/21/1999

Morocco presented on Wednesday to the UN human rights committee its fourth periodic report on the human rights situation in the kingdom.

The presentation provided an opportunity to the committee's experts to congratulate Morocco for the noteworthy progress scored in human rights matters during the past years and for the major orientations that King Mohammed VI seems determined to give to these rights.

The experts also raised a number of questions on the practical implementation of the provisions of the international pact on civil and political rights, expressing some critical remarks in this respect.

Morocco's ambassador to the U.N bodies in Geneva, Nacer Benjelloun Touimi who presented the report surveyed the measures adopted by the kingdom during the nineties to improve human rights and foster the respect of these rights.

After he mentioned the constitutional amendments operated and the advent of a center-left coalition alternation government led by Socialist Abderrahmane Youssoufi, who is himself a dedicated human rights activist, the diplomat recalled that King Mohammed VI renewed in his throne speech of last July 30 attachment to the rule of the law and to the preservation of human rights and individual and collective freedoms.

Among the significant royal gestures evidencing the sovereign's determination to consolidate democracy and the rule of the law, Touimi mentioned the setting up of an independent arbitration commission to set the compensations for the moral and material damage suffered by the victims of arbitrary detention, or their rightful claimants, and the return to Morocco of Moroccan opponent Abraham Serfaty, after years of exile.

Touimi also touched on the reform of justice and the improvement of detention conditions in Moroccan jails.

After this presentation, the 18 members of the committee successively took the floor to pose a number of questions and make remarks on Morocco's report.

The experts who described as "essential" the new orientations in matters of human rights as defined by King Mohammed VI since he accessed the throne, voiced however concern over some negative aspects, mainly discrimination against women and the too high illiteracy rate, especially among women.

The committee will adopt at the end of its 67th session next November 5 its final remarks on Morocco's report.

Besides Morocco, the Committee is examining reports of Norway, Portugal (Macao), the Republic of Korea, Cameroon and Hong Kong (China).

Previous Stories:
  Morocco committed to closing human rights dossier, Youssoufi says   (10/18/1999)
  Morocco to present human rights report to UN   (10/16/1999)
  Moroccan, Andalucian experts adopt declaration on human rights education   (10/16/1999)

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