FIDH welcomes public hearings into human rights abuses in Morocco

The International Federation for Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) has welcomed the public hearings of victims of human rights abuses and their families, organized by the Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER).

The hearings mark an important step in national reconciliation in Morocco, said FIDH in a release. "For the first time, words of the victims will be heard," FIDH pointed out.

The hearings are designed to give victims and relatives of victims the opportunity to present, for the first time before the Moroccan public, testimonies of disappearance and arbitrary detention committed in the past.

FIDH has been backing for years the combat for truth and justice led by its member associations and partners in Morocco, the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), the Moroccan Human Rights Organization (OMDH) and the Forum for Truth and Justice (FVJ), and continues to follow closely IER's actions, said the release.

In addition to reconciliation, IER chiefly aims at stopping the repetition of violations committed in the past by setting up a real State of law, the release pointed out.

The Equity and Reconciliation Commission was set up last January to look into cases of disappearance and arbitrary detention which occurred between 1956 and 1999.

Early this week, Amnesty International (AI) also welcomed the opening of hearings on human rights breaches committed in the past in Morocco.

Victims will start to testify in public next Tuesday, as announced by the Equity and reconciliation Commission which will be organizing these hearings throughout the country.

Around 200 victims, families of victims and witnesses of violations are due to participate in the hearings, which are scheduled to take place in 10 different cities, starting in the capital, Rabat, over a period of around 10 weeks.