Ombudsman setting up hailed as consolidating Morocco's institutional apparatus

The setting up of "Diwan Al-Madhalim" (Ombudsman), announced Sunday by King Mohammed VI, was hailed as an outstanding institution that will consolidate Morocco's institutional apparatus.

The Moroccan people will henceforth have the possibility to resort to an institution whenever a problem opposes them to an administration, Moroccan Premier Abderrahmane Youssoufi told the Moroccan TV channel TVM.

The institution will render justice to the citizen in its relations with the administration and will ease administrative procedures, said director of the documentation, information and training center in matters of human rights, Lahbib Belkouch.

Belkouch told the Moroccan TV channel 2M that "Diwan Al-Madhalim" will handle questions related to administrative slowness and administration abuses. He said he was convinced that there would be no interference between the prerogatives of existing human rights institutions and the prerogatives of "Diwan Al-Madhalim."

The new institution will contribute to correcting iniquities, upholding rights and safeguarding freedoms and is meant to be an efficient instrument for the promotion of mediation between the citizen and the administration that will handle the complaints and claims of the citizens who deem they have been harmed by a decision or an act considered unjust or contrary to the law.

For chairman of the forum "V?rit? et Justice" (Truth and justice), Driss Benzekri, this is an important institution that will consolidate Morocco's institutional apparatus and that will guarantee the citizen's rights in his relations with the administration.

He told the Moroccan TV channel TVM that Morocco was going through a crucial phase in matters of promotion of human rights institutions.

In a bid to bring "Diwan Al-Madhalim" closer to citizens, it will have representatives to the Prime Minister and to ministries and will have, in the future, regional and special representatives. The institution will submit an annual report to the sovereign and will present its remarks, recommendations and periodical reports to the Prime Minister and to the Human Rights Advisory Council.

In the message announcing the setting up of this institution, King Mohammed VI said the move is part of the measures adopted to reconcile the citizen with the administration, put an end to the citizen's feeling that there is a lack of communication on the part of the authority, alleviate the weight of bureaucracy and moralize public service.